Eligibility for Registration
You are eligible to register to vote if:
- You are a United States citizen;
- You are a resident of the county where you submit the application;
- You are at least 17 years and 10 months old on the date your voter registration application is submitted, and you are 18 years of age on Election Day.
- You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); and
- You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
Voting System used in Jackson County
Early Voting
Texas is a pioneer in early voting, having become the first U.S. state to offer in-person early voting in the 1980s. You do not have to meet any special qualifications to vote early in person – if you are registered and qualified to vote on Election Day, you can also cast a ballot during the early voting period. This enables Texas voters to cast their ballot in the days and weeks before an election to make the voting process more convenient and accessible.
Vote early in person.
Generally, early voting in person begins the 17th day before Election Day (if that’s a weekend, early voting starts on Monday) and ends the 4th day before Election Day. Vote at a location in your political subdivision that’s close to where you live or work. All other voting rules and procedures apply – e.g., eligibility and polling hours.
(NOTE: Early voting for some special elections and for elections held in May starts the 12th day before Election Day and ends on the 4th day before Election Day.)
To learn more about requirements for voting by mail, visit the Voting by Mail section.
Curbside Voting
If a voter is physically unable to enter the polling place, he or she may ask that an election officer bring a ballot to the entrance of the polling place or to a car parked at the curbside. After the voter marks the ballot, they will give it to the election officer, who will put it in the ballot box. Or, at the voter’s request, a companion may hand the voter a ballot and deposit it for him or her.
If you plan to go alone to vote curbside, it is wise to call ahead to the Jackson County Clerk's Office @ (361) 782-3563 so election officials will expect you and can give instructions on where to park. Generally speaking, you may vote curbside during the early voting period or on Election Day.
If you need assistance at the polls, tell the election official if you are a voter who needs help to vote. You do not have to provide proof of your disability. For guidance on which voters are eligible to receive assistance at the polling place, please see Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) which provides for voters who need assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write.
Voters may be assisted by:
- Any person the voter chooses who is not an election worker;
- Two election workers on Election Day; or
- One election worker during early voting.
Voters MAY NOT be assisted by:
- Their employer;
- An agent of their employer; or
- An officer or agent of their union.
The person assisting the voter must read him or her the entire ballot, unless the voter asks to have only parts of the ballot read. The person assisting the voter must take an oath that he or she will not try to influence the voter’s vote and will mark the ballot as the voter directs. If the voter chooses to be assisted by polling place officials, poll watchers and election inspectors may observe the voting process, but if the voter asks to be assisted by a person the voter chooses, no one else may watch him or her vote.
It is illegal for a person assisting the voter to:
- Try to influence the voter’s vote;
- Mark the voter’s ballot in a way other than the way they have asked; or
- Tell anyone how the voter voted.
Voters May Use Interpreters at the Polls
Voters who cannot speak English, or who communicate only with sign language, may use an interpreter to help them communicate with election officials, regardless of whether the election official(s) attending to the voter can speak the same language as the voter. The voter may select any person other than the voter’s employer, an agent of the voter’s employer, or an officer or agent of a labor union to which the voter belongs. If the voter cannot read the languages on the ballot, the interpreter may also act as an assistant for the voter, but they must follow the procedures for an assistant. (See assistance section above for more details.) If the voter is deaf and does not have a sign language interpreter who can accompany them to help communicate with the poll worker or read the ballot, the voter should contact his or her local election officials before the election and request assistance.
The 100-Foot Marker
When you go to your polling place, you will likely notice a cone or other distance marker placed 100 feet from the entrance of the building. Inside that 100 foot mark, you are not allowed to post, use or distribute any political signs or literature relating to a candidate, political party or measure appearing on your ballot in that election.
Cell Phones and Other Devices
Under Texas law, persons are not allowed to use wireless communications devices within 100 feet of voting stations. Additionally, persons are not allowed to use mechanical or electronic devices to record sound or images within 100 feet of the voting stations.
Devices that should not be used in the polling place include:
- Cell phones
- Cameras
- Tablet computers
- Laptop computers
- Sound recorders
- Any other device that may communicate wirelessly, or be used to record sound or images.
What can’t I wear to the polls?
In Texas, a person may not wear apparel or a similar communicative device relating to a candidate, measure, or political party appearing on the ballot in the current election, but a person may wear such apparel relating to a candidate, measure, or political party that does NOT appear on the ballot in the current election.
In other words, if you are wearing a hat, t-shirt, or button relating to a candidate, measure or political party that does not appear on the ballot in the current election, you are not violating Texas law.
However, if you are wearing apparel relating to a candidate, measure, or political party on the ballot, a presiding judge has the ability to enforce the law within the 100-foot marker outside of the polling place entrance. You may be asked to remove or cover up your apparel before entering the building.
House Bill 25 - Effective September 1, 2020
House Bill 25, passed during the 85th Legislative Session, eliminated straight party voting effective September 1, 2020 (Section 64.004, Texas Election Code). If you wish to vote for all of the candidates affiliated with one party, you should select each candidate one at a time on your ballot.
“El Proyecto de Ley 25 de la Cámara de Representantes, aprobado durante la 85a Sesión Legislativa, eliminó la votación de partido único a partir del 1 de septiembre de 2020 (Sección 64.004, Código Electoral de Texas). Si desea votar por todos los candidatos afiliados a un partido, debe seleccionar a cada candidato uno a la vez en su boleta.”
TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY
H. Donnell Cole- Democratic Party Chair
(361) 550-5997
TEXAS REPUBLICAN PARTY
David Webel- Republican Party Chair
(361) 550-3578