Voting in Specific Circumstances

• As soon as you are 17 years and 10 months old, you are old enough to register to vote.
• You can vote when you turn 18 years old.

You'll need to:

• check your eligibility
• get a Texas voter registration application (pdf)
  • No printer? Call Bexar County Elections Department at 210-335-8683 to have one sent to you
  • Your high school principal's office should have a registration form for you to fill out
• complete the application
  • use the last four (4) digits of your Social Security number if you don't have a Texas Driver License or Texas Personal Identification Card
  • be sure to add a mailing address if you don't receive mail at home
  • sign and date the application
• mail to: Bexar County Elections Department, 1103 S. Frio St., STE 100, San Antonio, TX 78207
• check the mail for your voter registration card 30 days after submitting the application

For more information, see the voter registration section of this website.

You can either:

• register in your county in your home state and vote an absentee ballot
  • go to VOTE411.org to find out what your state's registration and absentee ballot requirements are
  • you may need to contact your county's elections department to register
• register in Bexar County and vote in person during Early Voting or on Election Day

You can either:

• register in Bexar County and vote by mail if you will be at school during Early Voting and on Election Day, OR
• establish residency, register, and vote in the state where you attend college
  • go to VOTE411.org to look up registration and voting requirements for that state, and contact the elections department for the county your school is in
• you can only be registered in one place at a time
• registering in a new state should cancel any previous TX registrations

You have three options:

• register in the Texas county where you go to school and vote in person
  • fill out a voter registration application (pdf) with your address in your new county
  • mail it to the elections department of your new county 
  • automatically cancels registration in previous TX county
• register in Bexar County and return home to vote in person during Early Voting or on Election Day
• register in Bexar County and vote by mail from your college

• you do not need to have a Texas driver license to register
• you can simply use the last four (4) digits of your Social Security number

• Write the name of your dormitory and the main street address for your college in the "residence address" section.
• Be sure to fill in the "mailing address" section with the address you use for receiving mail if different from your "residence address."

• Your college student ID cannot be used to vote.
• See the voter ID section of this website for information on acceptable ID for voting. 

• Where you register to vote will not affect federal financial aid, such as:
  • Pell Grants,
  • Perkins or Stafford loans
  • your dependency status for FAFSA.
• However, be sure to confirm the terms of any local or state scholarships or grants you received in your home state to be certain you will not jeopardize that funding.

You are entitled to receive assistance if you:

• Cannot read or write; 
• Have a physical disability that prevents you from reading or marking the ballot; or
• Cannot speak English or communicate only with sign language and want assistance communicating with election officials.

The person who assists you will need to sign an oath at the polls.

**You do not have to provide proof of a disability to receive assistance**

If you are entitled to assistance, you can choose:

• an election worker (one during Early Voting or two on Election Day), or
• any person you choose who is not an election worker, EXCEPT your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your union.

If you:

• cannot speak English, or
• communicate only with sign language,

you may use an interpreter to help you communicate with election officials, regardless of whether the election officials speak the same language as you. 

Having an interpreter of your choosing is your right, but that interpreter cannot be:

• your employer,
• an agent of your employer, or
• an officer or agent of your union.

The person who interprets for you will need to sign an oath at the polls.

Any voter who has difficulty walking or standing for long periods can vote from a car at the curbside outside a polling location.

Before leaving for your polling location, please call ahead to the Bexar County Elections Department at 210-335-8683 to let them know where you plan to vote so that your polling location can be notified that you want to vote from your car.

At the polling location you can park your car in a parking space or pull up at the curbside.

An election official will bring your ballot to your car outside the polling location.

An election officer may offer you the option to move to the front of the line, which election officials describe as voting order priority.

Special needs and conditions that may allow you to move to the front of the line include the following:

• paralysis
• lung disease
• the use of portable oxygen
• cardiac deficiency
• severe limitation in the ability to walk due to arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition
• wheelchair confinement
• arthritis, foot disorder
• the inability to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest
• use of a brace, cane, crutch, or other assistive device.

Voters with a disability may apply with the county voter registrar for a permanent exemption from presenting a required photo ID at the polls.

The Request for Disability Exemption must contain written documentation from either:

• the U.S. Social Security Administration evidencing the applicant’s disability, OR
• the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs evidencing a disability rating of at least 50 percent

The voter must also include:

• a statement that voter does not have any of the forms of required identification

Those who obtain a disability exemption will be allowed to vote upon display of their voter registration certificate reflecting the exemption and will not need to complete a Reasonable Impediment Declaration.

Contact the Bexar County Elections Department at 210-335-8683 for more information.

Voters in the military, their dependents, and spouses have two options:

• Register in your home county while still in-state and apply for a ballot by mail using the regular process
• Use the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA) https://www.fvap.gov/
  • registers voter onto permanent rolls and acts as a request for a ballot by mail
  • must be received by Early Voting Clerk no later than 11 days before election (for upcoming election: July 2)
  • mail to: Bexar County Elections Department, 1103 S. Frio Street, STE 100, SA TX  78207

When stationed overseas, completed ballots are due the 5th day after Election Day.

Mail applications and completed ballots as early as possible.

See the Federal Voting Assistance Program or  Overseas Vote Foundation for more information.

Voters living overseas but not in the military have two options:

• Register while still in-state and apply for a ballot by mail using the regular process, OR
• Use the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA)  https://www.fvap.gov/
  • registers voter onto permanent rolls and acts as a request for a ballot by mail
  • must be received by Early Voting Clerk no later than 11 days before election (for upcoming election: July 2)
  • mail to: Bexar County Elections Department, 1103 S. Frio Street, STE 100, SA TX  78207

For overseas voters not in the military, completed ballots are due the 5th day after Election Day.

Mail applications and completed ballots as early as possible.

See the Federal Voting Assistance Program or  Overseas Vote Foundation for more information.

Your voting rights are restored when you go "off-paper" and have completed all the terms of your sentence, including:

• incarceration,
• parole,
• probation, and
• any period of supervision. 

Your voting rights are also restored if you have been pardoned.

If you can receive mail at your shelter, use your shelter address for both the "Residence address" and your "Mailing address" on the registration form. 

If you can't receive mail at your shelter, find a family member, friend, or other social service agency willing to receive mail for you, and use their address as your mailing address.

Important Points

• If you move to a different location within the county, be sure to update the address on your voter registration. 
• Even if you are unable to update the address, you can still vote
  • you will need to sign a "statement of residence" at the polling location confirming your new address
  • you will vote on the ballot of contests applicable to your old address, AND
• The address on your photo ID does not have to be current or match the address on your voter registration card
• If you don't have the required photo ID, and can't reasonably get one...
  • You can still vote a regular ballot
    • bring a supporting form of ID and sign a simple form
• Contact VoteRiders at 844-338-8743 for assistance obtaining photo ID 

For your "Residence Address," simply describe the location where you live:

• “near the intersection of x street and y street”
• “under Highway xx at y street”
• “at xx Park”

For your "Mailing address, " use the address of a friend, relative, or social service agency that has agreed to receive your mail.  You can also use the US Postal service General Delivery.

• General Delivery, San Antonio, TX  78284-9765

If you use General Delivery, you would need to pick up your mail with a valid photo ID at the main post office in San Antonio at 10410 Perrin Beitel Road (78284).  See https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-General-Delivery.

• 84.0021 Confidential Voter Registration Form and Early Voting Ballot Application
• 84.0021 Formulario de Inscripción Electoral y Solicitud para Boleta Postal Confidenciales

If you cannot reasonably get one of the seven (7) acceptable forms of photo voter ID, you can still vote a regular ballot!

When you go to vote, ask to sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration, indicating the reason why you are unable to get a photo ID. 

Then simply show your voter registration card

OR a copy or original of any of the following supporting documents to vote:

• A government document that shows your name and an address, expired or current
• Utility bill from within the past two months
• Bank statement
• Government check
• Paycheck
• An out-of-state drivers license
• A TX drivers license expired any number of years
• A certified domestic birth certificate from any U.S. state or territory 
• A document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (example: foreign birth document)

See the Texas Secretary of State Elections Division website for more information.

Text or call VoteRiders at 844-338-8743 or Spread the Vote at 713-496-0570 for assistance obtaining photo ID.

These organizations can answer your questions, as well as help obtain necessary documents, arrange transportation, and cover costs associated with getting state photo ID.