{"id":451183,"date":"2026-09-29T14:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T14:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/451183\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T14:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T14:44:12","slug":"key-dates-and-information-what-texas-voters-need-to-do-ahead-of-the-midterm-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/451183\/","title":{"rendered":"Key dates and information: What Texas voters need to do ahead of the midterm elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s the time of year when campaign ads have seemingly conquered everything fun \u2014 our television screens, our phones, our text messages. And it&#8217;s probably the time of year you receive the most texts from unknown numbers claiming they&#8217;ve &#8220;never needed your support more.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s also the first time in six years that you might find yourself asking: What exactly does the Texas Railroad Commissioner do? (Hint: it has less to do with railroads and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keranews.org\/politics\/2022-05-20\/gop-runoff-for-railroad-commissioner-asks-voters-what-is-the-job-of-a-texas-oil-regulator\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">more to do with oil.<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s all to say, it&#8217;s midterm election season. This October and November, Texans will have a chance to select who represents them both Washington, D.C. and in Austin.<\/p>\n<p>This campaign cycle has been characterized by a handful of competitive races, notably between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keranews.org\/2026-09-28\/paxton-talarico-contest-on-course-to-demolish-texas-record-for-campaign-spending-in-a-u-s-senate-election\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and State Representative James Talarico<\/a>. It&#8217;s also been marked by controversy, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keranews.org\/news\/2026-09-01\/advocates-demand-increased-voting-access-as-tarrant-county-considers-cutting-polling-sites\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tarrant County commissioners cut polling sites<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keranews.org\/texas-news\/2026-08-28\/texas-voters-suspense-list-flagged-election-address\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">1.2 million Texas voters found themselves on a &#8220;suspense&#8221; list.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s everything you need to know ahead of this year&#8217;s midterm elections. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790693052_431_thumbnail.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"table visualization\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Can I vote?<br \/>In order to vote in Texas, you must:<\/p>\n<p>be a U.S. citizenbe a resident of the county you are applying to vote inbe at least 18 years old by Election Daynot have been declared mentally incapacitated by a courtnot be a convicted felon (though you may be eligible if you were pardoned or completed your sentence, probation and parole)<\/p>\n<p>How do I register to vote?<\/p>\n<p>The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 5.<\/p>\n<p>To register to vote, visit your county&#8217;s website: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.collincountytx.gov\/Elections\/voter-registration-information\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Collin County<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.votedenton.gov\/voter-information\/voter-registration\/\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Denton County<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallascountyvotes.org\/voters\/registration\/register\/\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Dallas County<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarrantcountytx.gov\/en\/elections\/register-to-vote.html\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tarrant County<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You can check to see your registration status on the Texas Secretary of State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/goelect.txelections.civixapps.com\/ivis-mvp-ui\/#\/login\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What do I do if I am on the voter suspense list?<\/p>\n<p>What a voter should do depends on whether they have moved since they last registered to vote.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t moved, you can still vote even if you\u2019re on the list. You\u2019ll need to complete what\u2019s called a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.state.tx.us\/elections\/forms\/pol-sub\/21-6f.pdf\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Statement of Residence<\/a> when voting by mail or at the polls to confirm your address.<\/p>\n<p>If you moved within the same county, you can update your address before the Oct. 5 voter registration deadline. If you don&#8217;t update it before then, you can still vote. On Election Day, you can return to the precinct where you previously lived and complete a Statement of Residence before casting your ballot.<\/p>\n<p>If you moved to a different county and haven&#8217;t updated your registration, you can apply for a limited ballot during early voting at the main early voting polling place in your new county. A limited ballot allows you to vote in races and measures for which you are eligible in both your old and new counties.<\/p>\n<p>You can find more information what to do <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keranews.org\/texas-news\/2026-08-28\/texas-voters-suspense-list-flagged-election-address\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>How do I vote?<\/p>\n<p>Make sure you bring an acceptable form of photo identification to your polling place:<\/p>\n<p>Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPSTexas personal identification card issued by DPSTexas handgun license issued by DPSUnited States military identification card containing the person\u2019s photographUnited States citizenship certificate containing the person\u2019s photographPassport<\/p>\n<p>Remember, you won&#8217;t be able to use your phone or other devices once you are in the voting booth or within 100 feet of voting stations.<\/p>\n<p>In Texas, you must meet certain requirements to vote by mail. Those are:<\/p>\n<p>be 65 years or olderbe sick or disabledbe out of the county on election day and during the period of early voting be personal appearancebe expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Daybe confined in jail, but otherwise eligible<\/p>\n<p>For the Nov. 3 election, the last day to apply for ballot by mail (received, not postmarked) is Oct. 23. The last day to receive ballot by mail is Election Day Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. (not postmarked) or Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. (postmarked). Learn more about the deadlines for vote by mail at the Texas Secretary of State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.state.tx.us\/elections\/voter\/important-election-dates.shtml\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s the time of year when campaign ads have seemingly conquered everything fun \u2014 our television screens, our&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-451183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}