ELECTION CODE CHAPTER 82. ELIGIBILITY FOR EARLY VOTING

ELECTION CODE

TITLE 7. EARLY VOTING

SUBTITLE A. EARLY VOTING

CHAPTER 82. ELIGIBILITY FOR EARLY VOTING

Sec. 82.001. ABSENCE FROM COUNTY OF RESIDENCE. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), a qualified voter is eligible for early voting by mail if the voter expects to be absent from the county of the voter's residence on election day and during the regular hours for conducting early voting at the main early voting polling place for that part of the period for early voting by personal appearance remaining after the voter's early voting ballot application is submitted to the early voting clerk.

(b) If a voter's early voting ballot application is submitted on or after the first day of the period for early voting by personal appearance, the voter is ineligible for early voting by mail unless the voter is absent from the county when the application is submitted and satisfies the requirements prescribed by Subsection (a).

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 472, Sec. 19, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 203, Sec. 2.05; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 554, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.

Sec. 82.002. DISABILITY OR CONFINEMENT FOR CHILDBIRTH. (a) A qualified voter is eligible for early voting by mail if the voter:

(1) has a sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the polling place on election day without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring the voter's health; or

(2) is expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after election day.

(b) The following do not constitute sufficient cause to entitle a voter to vote under Subsection (a):

(1) a lack of transportation;

(2) a sickness that does not prevent the voter from appearing at the polling place on election day without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring the voter's health; or

(3) a requirement to appear at the voter's place of employment on election day.

(c) To be eligible for an early voting ballot by mail under Subsection (a)(1), an applicant must affirmatively indicate that he or she agrees with the statement prescribed by Section 84.002(c).

Amended by:

Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 728 (H.B. 3920), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2021.

Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 728 (H.B. 3920), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2021.

Sec. 82.003. AGE. A qualified voter is eligible for early voting by mail if the voter is 65 years of age or older on election day.

Sec. 82.004. CONFINEMENT IN JAIL. (a) A qualified voter is eligible for early voting by mail if, at the time the voter's early voting ballot application is submitted, the voter is confined in jail:

(1) serving a misdemeanor sentence for a term that ends on or after election day;

(2) pending trial after denial of bail;

(3) without bail pending an appeal of a felony conviction; or

(4) pending trial or appeal on a bailable offense for which release on bail before election day is unlikely.

(b) A voter confined in jail who is eligible for early voting is not entitled to vote by personal appearance unless the authority in charge of the jail, in the authority's discretion, permits the voter to do so.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 472, Sec. 19, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 554, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Renumbered from Election Code Sec. 82.005 and amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 203, Sec. 1.02; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, Sec. 70, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 82.005. ELIGIBILITY FOR EARLY VOTING BY PERSONAL APPEARANCE. Any qualified voter is eligible for early voting by personal appearance.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 472, Sec. 19, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 554, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Renumbered from Election Code Sec. 82.006 and amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 203, Sec. 1.02.

Sec. 82.007. PARTICIPATION IN ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY PROGRAM. A qualified voter is eligible for early voting by mail if:

(1) the voter submitted a registration application by personal delivery as required by Section 13.002(e); and

(2) at the time the voter's early voting ballot application is submitted, the voter is certified for participation in the address confidentiality program administered by the attorney general under Subchapter B, Chapter 58, Code of Criminal Procedure.

Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1295 (S.B. 74), Sec. 7, eff. June 15, 2007.

Amended by:

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 469 (H.B. 4173), Sec. 2.28, eff. January 1, 2021.

Sec. 82.008. INVOLUNTARY CIVIL COMMITMENT. A qualified voter is eligible for early voting by mail if, at the time the voter's early voting ballot application is submitted, the voter is a person who is civilly committed as a sexually violent predator under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code, and is ordered as a condition of civil commitment to reside in a facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Civil Commitment Office.

Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 711 (H.B. 3107), Sec. 45, eff. September 1, 2021.