KUTX Votes: Election 2024

Early voting runs from Monday, October 21, 2024 to Friday, November 1, 2024.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5 (7 A.M. to 7 P.M.)

Important dates

  • Oct. 21 to Nov. 1 — Early voting
  • Oct. 25 — Deadline to submit a mail-in ballot application (received, not postmarked)
  • Nov. 5 — Election Day

What’s on the ballot?

Our sister-station KUT 90.5 has put together voter guides for three counties. Each guide has information on the biggest races in the area, plus links to sample ballots

Want to see your personalized sample ballot? Type in your address below or click this link.

Am I registered to vote?

You can go to the Texas Secretary of State’s website to check your registration anywhere in the state. If it turns out you’re not registered, the deadline for this election has passed — but you can visit the Vote Texas site to learn how to register for future elections.

When and where can I vote?

You have to vote at a polling location in the county where you live. Early voting runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.

Travis County early voting locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12 to 6 p.m. on Sunday. On the last two days of early voting, some locations are open until 10 p.m. KUT has created a polling place map for early voting. You can also check live wait times on the Travis County website.

Find Williamson County voting locations and hours on the county’s website.

Find Hays County voting locations and hours on the county’s website.

What do I bring with me to the polls?

Make sure to bring a photo ID when you vote. Acceptable forms of ID include:

  • Texas driver’s license
  • Texas election identification certificate
  • Texas personal identification card
  • Texas handgun license
  • U.S. military identification card that includes your photograph
  • U.S. citizenship certificate that includes your photograph
  • U.S. passport 

The ID can be expired for up to four years. If you’re 70 or older, you can bring a photo ID that has been expired for any length of time.

If you had trouble getting an ID, here are the alternatives you can bring to the polls:

  • government document showing your name and an address, such as your voter registration certificate
  • current utility bill
  • bank statement
  • government check
  • paycheck
  • certified birth certificate or court admissible birth document

All of these documents can either be a copy or the original. If you use one of these, you’ll have to sign a form that says you had a reasonable impediment to getting an ID.

If you are between the age of 18 and 69, you can use an acceptable form of ID, even if it is expired, as long as it hasn’t been expired for more than 4 years before the date you present it at the polling place. The only exception is the U.S. Citizenship Certificate, which does not expire. If you are 70 or older, your acceptable form of photo identification may be expired for any length of time if the identification is otherwise valid.

Find more detailed information about Voter ID Requirements

What not to do at the polls

Remember that you can’t use cellphones, cameras, computers or any kind of recording device within 100 feet of voting booths. If you were planning to have some notes on your phone, print them out instead.

You also can’t wear clothes or accessories relating to a candidate, political party or measure on the ballot.

Voting by mail?

In Texas, you can vote by mail only if you:

  • won’t be in the county you’re registered in during early voting and on Election Day
  • are sick or disabled
  • are expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day
  • are 65 or older on Election Day
  • are in prison or civil commitment, but are otherwise eligible

To vote by mail, print the “Application for Ballot by Mail” or submit an online request for it to be mailed to you. Fill out the required sections and sign your name with the date, then mail the completed application to the early voting clerk in your county. You can visit the Texas Secretary of State’s website for more guidance.

The deadline to submit a request for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 25. To vote by mail, print the “Application for Ballot by Mail” or submit an online request for it to be mailed to you. Fill out the required sections and sign your name with the date, then mail the completed application to the early voting clerk in your county. You can visit the Texas Secretary of State’s website for more guidance.

The Austin-area League of Women Voters has also put together a guide to voting by mail for Central Texas voters, which you can find on the organization’s website.

Once you get your mail-in ballot, there are some extra deadlines you should keep in mind to make sure your ballot is received on time:

  • Postmarked: Nov. 5 by 7 p.m.
  • Post received: Nov. 6 by 5 p.m.
  • In-person received: Nov. 5 by 7 p.m.

Once you’ve returned your mail-in ballot, you can check its status on the Texas Secretary of State’s website.

Check out these additional voting resources

Review your Voting Rights

Find more information about Voting in Texas at VoteTexas.gov

Need assistance at the polls, or need to report an issue with you polling place? Election Protection is a non-partisan group that stations their volunteers at many polling places. If there is no volunteer onsite, call 866-OUR-VOTE or visit their website.

KUTX‘s Jacquie Fuller volunteers at the polls.

 

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