How to Vote in Texas’ 2024 Elections

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Note: The primary election has passed and multiple races will now head to a runoff election. Check with your county elections office to see whether a runoff will be held in your district. In Texas, a runoff election is held for races in which no candidate has received over half the total votes (50 percent plus one vote). 

• Primary election: Tuesday, March 5
• Primary runoff election: Tuesday, May 28
• General election: Tuesday, Nov. 5

• Voter registration: The deadline to register to vote in the primary runoff election is Monday, April 29. Check your registration via the state’s online voter portal.

• Voting by mail: A ballot by mail is available only to some voters, including those who are 65 or older, are sick or have a disability, or will be out of their home county on Election Day and during the early voting period. 

• Early voting: Registered voters may vote at an early voting site in their county.

• Voting at the polls: Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. An acceptable form of photo ID, such as a Texas driver’s license or U.S. passport, is required.

Election laws enacted in 2023 have affected numerous voting rules and processes for Texans. Among the changes:

• Voters with mobility problems can now skip the line when they vote in person. Polling places must have at least one parking spot for voters who are physically unable to enter the site and want to vote curbside.

• Ballot-by-mail voters who make errors in their applications or submitted ballots should receive instructions from election officials on how to correct their mistakes if there is enough time to meet voter deadlines.

• Early voting days and hours at the main early voting polling place of each county have been standardized for primary and general elections, with weekend hours required.

A sweeping 2021 state law — it banned drive-through and 24-hour early voting, introduced new ID requirements for mail-in voters and prohibits election officials from distributing mail-in ballot applications to voters who did not request them — faces legal challenges. Check back for updates.

Redistricting in 2021 redrew the boundaries of certain state legislative and U.S. congressional districts. Note that litigation over some districts is ongoing.

The deadline to register to vote in the primary runoff election is Monday, April 29.

Texans must submit a voter registration application either by mail or in person. You will need to provide a Texas-issued driver’s license or state ID card number or the last four digits of your Social Security number on the application. To register:

• By mail: Complete a voter registration application online. Then print, sign and mail it to your county registrar's office. If you’d prefer to complete the application by hand, make an online request or call your voter registrar to have a registration form mailed to you. You can also pick up an application from your voter registrar’s office or from public libraries and certain government offices.

• In person: Visit your county registrar's office.

Check your registration via the state’s online voter portal. You can update your name or address online through the secretary of state’s Voter Name and Address Changes portal.

Texas primaries are open. Voters do not have to be preregistered with a party to participate, but by voting in a certain party’s primary, you are affiliating with that party and cannot vote in another party’s runoff that year.

A ballot by mail is available only to some voters, including those who are 65 or older, are sick or have a disability, or will be out of their home county on Election Day and during the early voting period. You can apply for a ballot by mail:

• By mail: Download the application, fill it in electronically or print it and fill it in by hand. Or request an application be mailed to you from the secretary of state’s office or your county’s early voting clerk. Once complete, mail your application to your county’s early voting clerk. Forms require first-class postage.

• In person: At the office of your county’s early voting clerk.

• By email or fax: If you think you may miss the deadline to submit your application, you can email your application to your county’s early voting clerk — or fax it, if the clerk’s office has a fax machine. You must then also mail the original application so the clerk receives it no later than the fourth business day after it was received via email or fax.

To vote in the primary runoff, applications must be received by your early voting clerk by close of business or noon, whichever is later, on Friday, May 17. Voters who are 65 or older or have a disability can request ballots by mail for all elections in the calendar year.

You must provide either your Texas driver’s license number, Texas personal ID number or election ID certificate number (which is different from your Voter Unique Identifier number) on both your mail-in ballot application and the return carrier envelope for your voted ballot. If you have not been issued one of these numbers, you can submit the last four digits of your Social Security number.

Return your voted ballot in its carrier envelope either:

• By mail: To your early voting clerk. Ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, May 28, at 7 p.m. and be received by Wednesday, May 29, at 5 p.m. Postage is required.

• In person: To your early voting clerk’s office on Election Day by 7 p.m.

Make sure the numbers listed on your return carrier envelope and your ballot-by-mail application are associated with your voter registration record. Check your registration via the state’s online voter portal. Check the status of your mail-in ballot and, if possible, correct any missing or incorrect information identified by county election officials via the state’s official online Ballot by Mail Tracker.

Registered voters can cast a ballot at an early voting site in their county from Monday, May 20, to Friday, May 24, for the primary runoff election. Locations will be posted closer to the start of early voting on the state’s online voter portal or you can contact your county elections office. Hours may vary at each location but can’t occur before 6 a.m. or after 10 p.m; 24-hour early voting is no longer permitted in Texas.

Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting locations will be listed on the state’s online voting portal closer to Election Day, or you can contact your county elections office.

There is no requirement to have voted in the primary election on Tuesday, March 5 in order to participate in the runoff election on Tuesday, May 28.

When voting in person, you must present one of the seven acceptable forms of photo ID, which include a Texas driver’s license, an election identification certificate or a U.S. passport.If you don’t have a photo ID and can’t reasonably obtain one, you can fill out a declaration at your polling place, where you must also present one of the acceptable forms of supporting ID, such as a copy of a certified domestic birth certificate, current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check.If you have an acceptable photo ID but don’t have it at your polling place, you can still vote a provisional ballot. You will have six days after an election to present the acceptable ID to your county registrar or to process an exemption if it was lost in a natural disaster for your vote to count.

Numerous accommodations are made in Texas for voters with disabilities. All polling places in the state must be accessible for voters. Voters who can't read English may use interpreters at the polls. If a voter is physically unable to enter a polling place, curbside voting is available.

If you require assistance to cast your ballot, you may receive assistance from either a person of your choosing (aside from your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your union) or from two election workers. Those who assist others must sign a form disclosing their relationship to the voter. They also must recite an oath stating they did not pressure or coerce the voter into choosing them as an assistant.For more information on voting with a disability, visit the votetexas.gov website.

Key races:

• U.S. President
• U.S. Senate: one seat
• U.S. House: All 38 seats 
• Texas Senate: 15 of 31 seats 
• Texas House: All 150 seats
• Texas Supreme Court: three seats 

Find more information about what’s on the ballot on the secretary of state’s website closer to the Nov. 5 election.

Editor’s note: This guide was originally published on Jan. 11, 2024, with information about voting in Texas’ 2024 primary election. 

Emily Paulin covers nursing homes, health care and federal and state policy for AARP. Her work has also appeared in Broadsheet, an Australian lifestyle publication.

Grace Dickinson is a writer for aarp.org who covers federal and state policy. She previously wrote for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her work has also appeared on sites like HuffPost and Eater.

• Follow AARP's political coverage at aarp.org/elections 
• Keep up with local events and AARP advocacy efforts at states.aarp.org/texas