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Texas voter guide for college students

By Lillian Vest

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More resources: How to vote in Texas

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 college or high school student voters.

A fraction of Texas voters cast their ballot and an even smaller number of young people vote. During the 2022 midterms, only 49% of registered Texas voters between 18 and 24 participated, compared to 86% of voters 65 and older.

Young people ages 18-25 make up nearly 15% of Texas’ adult population, according to census data from 2023. The issues most older generations find important may differ from those younger people most care about.

“It sounds cliche, but young people are the future at the end of the day,” said Karyn Fu, a Rice University student majoring in biosciences and social policy analysis who is also an election judge in Harris County.

Congress and the president shape national policies that affect young Texans, like student loan payments and environmental laws. Local officials also directly affect young people when it comes to housing and transportation policies.

“There are a lot of different things that are happening on a day-to-day basis, even on the local level, that are shaped by who we elect,” said Tessa Mitterhoff, Travis County regional field coordinator for MOVE Texas, a nonpartisan group that works to get young Texans civically engaged.

Young voters face several obstacles to voting under Texas’ strict voting laws. Student IDs are not an acceptable form of required identification and the state forbids same-day, online and automatic voter registration. Many colleges also lack on-campus voting locations, partially due to a 2019 state law prohibiting temporary voting sites during the 12 days of early voting.

Mitterhoff said these constraints and low turnout makes it more important that young voters cast ballots. “I think if you're able to show up, it is like a powerful statement,” she said.

Here’s what college students and other young voters need to know to be ready for the election, including how to register, where to find voting locations and what people need to bring to the polls.

Key dates

How to check your voter registration in Texas

One of the most common issues young people face when voting is thinking they're registered to vote when they’re not or being unsure where they should vote if they’ve moved.

You can check to see if you’re registered and verify your information through the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You’ll need one of the following three combinations to log in:

How to avoid long voting lines

Limited time or schedule conflicts are another common challenge to voting for young people like busy college students. If your campus has a polling place on Election Day, the lines can be hours long. Early voting can help voters avoid long lines, but only certain polling places participate. You can check which polling places participate in early voting here or through your county. Early voting for the general election will occur from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.

Texas law says voters have the right to vote during work hours without being penalized or losing pay, but this may not apply if a worker has two hours before or after work to vote. If Election Day is your only option, you have the right to cast a ballot as long as you’re in line by 7 p.m.

How do I register to vote in Texas?

More information on eligibility criteria can be found here.

The voter registration application can be obtained in several ways.

To register, you’ll need identification. Here are the documents accepted:

More information about identification requirements can be found here.

How do I decide where to register to vote as an out-of-state student?

Deciding where to register to vote as an out-of-state student depends on your preference. As a full-time student, registering to vote in your college state is more manageable because you'll spend most of your time there. With elections typically occurring during the school year, accessing polling places is convenient, eliminating the need to request a mail-in ballot. Getting registered on campus is accessible at most universities in Texas and some campuses have polling places where students can vote on Election Day.

If you are really involved in your community back home and want to stay registered there, absentee voting may be a good option. However, you’ll need to plan ahead of time. You can see the Texas deadlines for absentee and vote-by-mail here.

What if I can’t make it to the county I’m registered to vote in on Election Day?

If you can’t make it to the county you’re registered to vote in on Election Day, there are a few avenues you can take.

Early voting in person takes place 17 days before Election Day and ends four days before Election Day. Early voting polling locations are supposed to be listed here two days before early voting starts. It’s the same online tool to check if you’re registered to vote and shows all the nearest polling places for both Election Day and early voting.

Absentee voting is voting by mail. In order to be eligible, you must be out of the county on Election Day and during the period for early voting in person. More eligibility criteria can be found here. To vote by mail, you must fill out the application for a mail-in ballot. You can request the application here or print it yourself and mail it to your county’s early voting election clerk. If you need to vote by mail, apply early to give yourself as much time as possible to get your ballot sent to you and to mail it back by Election Day. Applications must be received — not postmarked — by the early voting clerk in your county by Oct. 25. You can learn more about the absentee voting process in our guide to voting by mail.

If you can’t make it to the Texas county you’re registered to vote for, but will still be in the state, you can request a limited ballot. You can vote in person or by mail with a limited ballot and can only vote early. If voting in person with a limited ballot, you can only vote at the main early voting location, which is usually the office of the election administrator or county clerk who runs elections in your county. The main early voting polling place should be noted in a county’s list of early voting locations. Upon request for a limited ballot, you will be required to fill out a limited ballot application. The limited ballot only includes statewide and federal elections. It will not contain any county or precinct elections.

What you’ll need to bring with you to the polling place

Check out this story for more details.

If you don’t have one of those photo IDs or have an out-of-state ID, but you’re registered in Texas, then you can still vote by filling out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and will have to present one of the following types of supporting identification documents:

You can cast a provisional ballot if you have a valid photo ID but forgot it. Still, you will have to visit the local voter registrar’s office within six days of Election Day to present an acceptable ID or documentation in order for the ballot to be counted. A registered voter without a valid photo ID or any of the supporting documents can also cast a provisional ballot.

Phones or any other device that can communicate wirelessly or be used to record sound or images are not allowed in the polling booth. So it’s helpful to research a sample ballot, which you can find through your county or other organizations, beforehand and bring a paper list of your election choices. Here is more information on what’s allowed in the polling place.

Here are some resources that can help make voting more accessible for you.

Disclosure: MOVE Texas, Rice University 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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Correction, : Correction: A previous version of the Texas college student voter guide incorrectly stated the day of the 2024 November election. The correct date for Election Day is Nov. 5.