BEAUMONT, Texas — The deadline to register and be eligible to vote in the upcoming primary election is coming up so if you haven’t registered it’s time to act.
In Texas voters must be registered by 30 days before election day which, for the March 2022 Primary Election, will be Monday, January 31, 2022.
Texas is an open primary state, which means that voters do not 'register' as members of a particular political party. Rather, eligible Texas voters can cast a ballot in either party's primary election - but not both. Primary Elections are run by the Republican and Democrat parties in each of Texas' 254 counties. Party chairs in each county are responsible for conducting voting on Election Day, while county election officials administer the Early Voting period.
Election day is Tuesday, March 1, 2022 and the first day of early-voting is Monday, February 14, 2022.
You’re eligible to vote if…
- You are a United States citizen;
- You are a resident of the county where you submit the application;
- You are at least 17 years and 10-months-old, and you are 18-years-old on Election Day.
- You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); and
- You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
If you’re unsure if you’ve previously registered to vote in Texas you can easily check by visiting the Texas Secretary of State’s online tool right here.
If you’ve moved somewhere within the same county you can change your address online at the Secretary of State’s Voter Registration Name/Address Change website.
In Texas to register to vote you need only to complete a voter registration application and return it to your county’s election office by mail or in person by the registration deadline. Once again the deadline for the March 2022 Primary Election is Monday, January 31, 2022.
Here’s some ways to fill out a voter registration application…
- Visit the Texas Secretary of State’s online voter registration application where you can fill out all your information. You’ll then need to print it, sign it and mail or carry it to your county’s election office.
- You can also request from right here that a printed application be mailed to your home.
- Contact or visit your county’s elections office in-person to register.
In Jefferson County you can turn in your voter registration form on the first floor of the Jefferson County Courthouse in the Tax Office at 1149 Pearl in downtown Beaumont, the Jefferson County Sub-Courthouse, 525 Lakeshore Drive in Port Arthur and the Mid-County Tax Office, near the airport, at 4605 Jerry Ware Dr.
Register to vote when renewing your Driver License or State ID card
If you’re not already registered to vote but have an existing Texas Driver License or state identification card, you can register to vote online when renewing, replacing or changing your contact information for either of these cards through the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Follow the steps on the DPS web portal to update your driver license information, and you will be given the option to register to vote when renewing or updating your information.
What to bring to the polling site to vote in Texas
You need to have a form of ID to cast your ballot at a polling location. Here is a list the state will accept:
- Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- U.S. Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
- U.S. Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- U.S. Passport (book or card)
If you don't have any of the above listed forms of ID and can't get one, you can bring one of the following in order to execute a "Reasonable Impediment Declaration:"
- Copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate
- Copy of or original current utility bill
- Copy of or original bank statement
- Copy of or original government check
- Copy of or original paycheck
- Copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document)