Aug. 16, 2024

“How Texans with disabilities can vote in the November election” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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The Nov. 5 election is quickly approaching, and Texans will have the opportunity to vote for several federal, state and local officials, including president.

The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization, is dedicated to helping Texans navigate the intricacies that may come with voting by mail or voting as a student or as a Texan with disabilities. This year, we’ve created a series of guides in addition to our comprehensive voter guide; this is our guide for voters with disabilities.

In Texas, all voters with disabilities have a right to accessible voting systems, as well as practical and effective means to cast a secret ballot. Every polling place will offer at least one kind of accessible voting equipment for federal elections. In addition, every polling site is required to be physically accessible.

Texas’ options for voters with disabilities may not be as extensive as in some other states, and the process for voting by mail is more restrictive than in some others. Although accessible voting systems are required in Texas, every polling place may not follow the same standards for enforcement and compliance. We’ve put together a list of the options voters with disabilities have in Texas, including voting by mail, in person with assistance, and through curbside voting or emergency ballots. We’ve also listed resources for if you feel like you may be experiencing disability discrimination, whether it be at the polls or elsewhere.

Key dates

• Election Day: Nov. 5, 2024
• Last day to register to vote: Oct. 7, 2024

• First day of early voting by personal appearance: Oct. 21, 2024
• Last day of early voting by personal appearance: Nov. 1, 2024
• Last day to apply for ballot by mail: Oct. 25, 2024
• Last day for a county to receive a mailed ballot: Nov. 5, 2024 (Election Day) or Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 if postmarked by Nov. 5 (see more details below in our guide to voting by mail.)

What are the voting options for people with disabilities?

If you have a disability, you may be eligible for multiple options:

• Voting by mail
• Curbside voting
• Skipping the line at a polling place

• Casting an emergency ballot if you become sick or disabled close to an election

Mail-in voting: In addition to people who will not be in their county during the election, people with disabilities can vote by mail. Texas’ definition of a disability is broader than other federal definitions. As defined in Texas Election Code, a qualified voter is eligible for early voting by mail if the voter 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.”

Voters who will be 65 years of age or older on Election Day or are expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day also qualify to vote early by mail. If you are a voter with a disability or 65 years or older, you can check the annual application option on the application to vote by mail to request to be sent a mail-in ballot for every election that year.

It’s up to the voter to decide whether they have an illness or physical condition that prevents them from voting in person without assistance, and election officials don’t have the authority to question a voter’s reasoning.

What identification do I need to vote by mail?

Texas’ rules for voting by mail require voters to provide an ID number on both their application for a ballot and the carrier-envelope used to return a completed ballot. This must be one of the following ID numbers:

A Texas driver’s license number

• A Texas state ID number

• The last four digits of their Social Security number
• Texas election ID certificate number (a photo ID issued by DPS and which is different from the number found on your voter registration certificate)
• If they don’t have any of these, voters can also check a box indicating they have not been issued that identification.

The requirement for an identification number was added by the Texas Legislature in 2021, and some voters have had their ballots or applications rejected because they didn’t provide an ID number or the number they provided did not match the one the state had for the voter. Some voting rights advocates and civic engagement groups have suggested providing two ID numbers, such as the one on your preferred Texas ID and the last four digits or your social security number, to ensure your application is quickly processed.

If you need help filling out the Application for Ballot By Mail (ABBM), the person who assists you must check the Assistant box in Box 6 of the application. They must also provide their signature, written name, and residential address.

If you cannot sign the application to vote by mail, you may provide a mark on the application and a witness can then mark the witness box in Box 6 of the application. If you cannot make a mark, the witness will need to state that. They must also provide their written name, signature, residential address and relationship to you, the voter.

Note that a person can only serve as a witness for one single-use Application for Ballot By Mail or one annual Application for Ballot By Mail, unless additional applications are for their parent, grandparent, spouse, child or sibling. Early voting clerks or deputy early voting clerks can also serve as witnesses for multiple applications for ballots by mail.

While there is a limit to the number of Applications for Ballot By Mail a witness can do, there is no limit to the number of voter registration applications or carrier envelopes for mail-in ballots for which a person can serve as a witness, as long as the required information is provided. Witnessing for voters who cannot sign or mark documents is also considered different from assisting a voter in completing and submitting their ballot. There are no limits on how many times a person can assist as long as they are not the voter’s employer or an agent of the voter’s employer or union.

To learn more about the process of voting by mail, you can also read our guide to mail-in voting for Texans.

What other options are available to voters with disabilities or who become ill?

Curbside voting: You can also contact your county elections office to determine if you’re eligible for curbside voting, which must be made available at every polling place for voters with disabilities unable to enter a polling location. Each curbside voting parking space should have a sign that includes a phone number to call or a button to push to alert election workers of your presence.

Emergency ballots: These ballots can be requested if you become sick or disabled close to an election and are unable to go to a polling place on Election Day. To qualify, you must designate a representative to submit an application in person on your behalf and have a certified doctor’s note. Your county’s early voting clerk must receive the application before 5 p.m. on Election Day. Your ballot must be returned by the same designated representative before 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. Contact your county elections office for more details about an emergency early-voting ballot due to sickness or disability.

What if I want to vote at a polling place?

Skip the line: Senate Bill 477, enacted in September 2023, makes it legal for some people with disabilities to skip the line at polling places. According to the law, if a voter has a mobility problem that substantially impairs the voter’s ability to ambulate (move or walk), and the voter agrees to be given voting order priority, then the election officer must move the voter to the front of the line to vote. A person assisting an individual with a mobility problem may also be given voting order priority at the individual’s request.

In Texas, all new voting systems have been required to be accessible to voters with disabilities since 1999. This means that in every federal election (and most non federal elections), each polling place will offer at least one type of accessible voting equipment, according to the state’s website for voter information.

What types of assistance can I receive?

Voters may receive assistance when completing a voter registration form, an application for a ballot by mail, when completing a ballot by mail, and when voting in person at the polling place and curbside.

When receiving assistance to cast a ballot, voters may use a person of their choosing, as long as it is not their employer, an agent of their employer, or a union representative. The person who serves as the “assistant” must then sign an oath and provide their signature, written name and residential address.

In 2021, Texas lawmakers passed a law requiring individuals assisting voters to also sign an oath stating they confined their assistance to reading the ballot to the voter, directing the voter to read the ballot, marking the voter’s ballot, or directing the voter to mark the ballot. But a federal court declared the requirement illegal, so Texas cannot enforce this law.

Voters also have the right to ask an election worker for assistance.

Voters have the right to bring their own interpreter or request that the county provide one. If voters need to request an interpreter from the county, it is suggested they contact their county’s election office and request assistance ahead of time.

If a voter uses their personal attendant/caregiver as an assistant, they must still provide all assistant information but the section that states they are not receiving compensation for assisting a voter does not apply to them.

Here are additional resources:

For more information on the options available to voters with disabilities, check out Disability Rights Texas and VoteTexas.gov.

If you have questions or run into trouble while voting, you can also call Disability Rights Texas’ hotline at 1-888-796-VOTE (8683) or email [email protected]. The Texas Secretary of State’s office also has an elections hotline at 800-252-VOTE (8683).

People with disabilities who believe they are experiencing disability discrimination or having difficulty obtaining disability services can apply for legal help from Disability Rights Texas by submitting an online service request with them. On their How to Apply for Services page, you can learn about other ways to apply for help, including calling their free intake phone line or one of their sign language phone lines.

Their statewide intake phone line number for those experiencing disability discrimination or those who are seeking legal services is 1-800-252-9108. The phone line is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Time. They also offer two sign language video intake lines: their Sign Language Video Phone at 1-866-362-2851 and their Purple 2 Video Phone at 512-271-9391, available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Time.

A special thank you to Disability Rights Texas and the League of Women Voters of Texas for offering their staff’s voting expertise and their online resources, which helped inform this guide.

Disclosure: League of Women Voters of Texas and Texas Secretary of State have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/16/texas-voter-disabilities-election-2024/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.