CAST YOUR BALLOT
EARLY VOTING
Harris County conducts early voting 14 to17 days prior to Election Day. Early voting allows any registered voter to vote at any one of the 30 designated Early Voting Locations. To find early voting locations, go to the County Clerk’s website and click on Voting Information, Early Voting. Click on the Early Voting Map to download a list of early voting locations, dates and hours.
ELECTION DAY VOTING
On Election Day, you must vote in the polling location designated for your precinct of residence.
To find your polling location, you need your precinct number.
- Your Precinct Number (Pct. No.) shows in the middle of the left side of your Voter Registration Certificate (VCR).
- If you do not have your VCR, you can pull up an online version on the County Tax Assessor’s website. Click on Voter Search and search by your name, your address or your Voter Registration Certificate Number to display your Voter Registration Card with your precinct number. Once you have your precinct number, you can find your polling place by checking with the Harris County Clerk’s Office. Visit Harris Votes. You can look in the newspaper; polling locations for each precinct are listed in the newspaper the day of the election. You can also call the County’s automated VOTE line to determine your precincts’ polling location at 713.368.POLL
ABSENTEE VOTING
You can submit an application to vote ballot-by-mail if you are:
- at least 65
- disabled or in a hospital or nursing home and cannot visit an early voting or Election Day polling location
- absent from the county during the early voting period and on election day
- confined to jail serving a misdemeanor sentence; or confined to jail without bail pending trial for a felony or appeal of a felony conviction
In order to vote absentee, you must fill out and submit an application to the Harris County Clerk’s office. You can
- request an application by calling 713.755.6405.
- print the application by accessing Harris Votes.
- After your application is received, a ballot is mailed to you.
- For more information, visit Harris Votes and click on Voting Information, Voting-by-Mail. Download a voting by mail brochure.
- Texas state law requires that applications for a ballot by mail cannot be accepted prior to the 60th day before an election.
WHAT TO BRING
TO THE POLLS
Take your Voter Registration Certificate (VRC). If you do not have your VRC, you can use other identification, such as a Texas Drivers License.
Any of the following is an acceptable ID:
- Your voter registration card
- Any other picture ID, such as your Texas Driving License (valid even if the ID has expired)
- Your United States passport
- A state issued birth certificate
- United State citizenship papers
- Official mail addressed to you, by name, from a government entity
- A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or any other government document establishing your name and address
You can take the LWV Houston Voters Guide or other written material into the Voting Booth. You cannot display or share any campaign material in the polling place, including wearing campaign t-shirts and pins.
AVAILABLE ASSISTANCE
If you require assistance, you have several options available:
- You can use the curbside voting option. Send someone into the polling place for you to ask an election worker to bring the E-Slate voting machine to you at your car.
- At least one E-Slate voting machine in every polling place is a Disabled Access Unit that is equipped with headphones and can be used with a sip-and-puff device.
- You can bring an assistant into the voting booth with you. An election worker will have your assistant sign an oath of assistance.
- You can ask for help from one of the election workers.
PROVISIONAL BALLOTS
If you arrive at your polling location and a problem occurs, election workers verify that you are in the correct location and then ask if you would like to cast a provisional ballot. After the polls close, all provisional ballots are sent to the Ballot Board for review. If the Board can determine that you were registered to vote and went to the correct polling place, the provisional ballot is counted.
Students Registered to Vote in Harris County but Attending School outside the County
You have several options; you can
- keep your registration in Harris County and vote absentee by using a ballot-by-mail
- return home on Election Day or during the early voting period
- register using your residence address even if it’s your dorm where you attend school and then vote in your new location
HARRIS COUNTY AND STATE OF TEXAS LINKS
FOR VOTER INFORMATION
DOWNLOAD THE LWV VOTERS GUIDE
2011 VOTERS KEY
Guide to Voting Information and Elected Officials Representing Houston and Harris County
Download the 2011 Voters Key Pdf (500KB)
Access vote411.org
● To find your polling place
● To register to vote
● To get voter information
Access Harris County Voter to
● Find your Precinct Number
● Download an application to register to vote
● Download an application to register name and address changes
Access Harris Votes to
● Find Early Voting locations
● Download a Ballot-By-Mail Application
● View a Sample Ballot for an upcoming election
● View the Election Calendar
● View election results for previous and current elections
Access Texas Online
To download an application to register name and address changes
Access Texas Elections
● To check if you are registered to vote
● To fill out a voter registration application
● To find information about
● Voters with special needs
● Student voters
● Military/Overseas voters