Can you vote if you're out of town for the 2026 midterm elections? What Texas voters need to know
Texas voters who meet certain eligibility requirements can request a ballot by mail rather than voting in person. The process includes submitting an application by the deadline, providing required identification information and returning the completed ballot according to state rules.
Who can vote by mail in Texas?
- 65 years of age or older on Election Day;
- Sick or disabled;
- Expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day;
- Absent from the county of registration during the Early Voting period and on Election Day;
- Civilly committed under Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code (a person legally classified as a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) and placed under long-term state supervision and treatment after finishing a prison sentence)
- Confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.
If you're voting early because of an expected absence, you can apply in person before the early "voting in person" period begins, usually the 17th day before the election.
If you are voting by mail because you are disabled or are 65 years of age or older, you may use a single application to request a mail-in for all county elections in the calendar year. Just mark "Annual Application" when selecting the election for which you are applying.
To vote by mail, you must provide one of the following numbers on your Application for a Ballot by Mail, or ABBM:
- Texas Driver's License, Texas Personal Identification Number or Election Identification Certificate Number issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, not your voter registration (VUID) number
- If you have not been issued one of the numbers above, the last four digits of your Social Security Number
For the Nov. 3, 2026, Election, the last day your ABBM can be received by your Early Voting Clerk is Friday, Oct. 23, 2026.
You may send in your application for a mail-in ballot to the Early Voting Clerk by:
- In-person delivery;
- Regular mail;
- Common or contract carrier
- Fax
Military or overseas voters
Military and overseas voters can use the regular registration and early voting-by-mail process, also known as absentee voting, available to all voters away from their home county on Election Day. However, there are also special provisions.
- Fill out and file your FPCA (Federal Postcard Application) as soon as possible, but no later than the 11th day before Election Day
- Receive your ballot or use the FWAB (Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot
- Cast your vote by returning your marked ballot by Election Day
Who can use the FPCA?
- Active duty military, spouses and dependents voting from outside the home county
- U.S. Citizens (nonmilitary) temporarily overseas away from their home county
- U.S. Citizens (nonmilitary) permanently overseas away from their previous home county
- Members of the merchant marine, spouses and dependents voting from outside their home county
- Members of the Texas National Guard, spouses and dependents voting from outside their home county
- Members of the National Guard of another state, spouses and dependents voting from outside their home county
- Members of the military reserves on active duty, spouses and dependents voting from outside their home county
What and where is the FPCA form?
There are two resources for obtaining an FPCA form:
What does the FPCA form do?
- The FPCA form registers a voter onto the permanent voter rolls 30 days after it is received by the county, unless the voter marks indefinitely away/do not intend to return
- It functions as an application for ballot by mail and gives temporary registration status for certain offices
- If the voter marks indefinitely away/do not intend to return, the voter receives a federal ballot only
When is the FPCA deadline?
- The deadline is the 11th day before Election Day
- Here are the deadlines calculated for upcoming elections
- The first day to file an FPCA is Jan. 1
- Send the FPCA to the Early Voting Clerk's office via hard copy by mail, common or contract carrier, in-person delivery, fax or email
How do you receive the ballot from the clerk?
- Hard copy by mail
- Common or contract carrier
When is the deadline for returning the ballot?
- By 7:00 p.m. Election Day, in general
- The deadline for voters voting from overseas is the fifth day after Election Day
- The deadline for the ballot to be received is the sixth day after Election Day for:
- Members of the armed forces of the United States, or the spouse or a dependent of a member of the armed forces;
- Members of the merchant marines of the United States, or the spouse or a dependent of a member of the merchant marines;
- Members of the Texas National Guard, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the Texas National Guard;
- Members of the National Guard of another state, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the National Guard of another state;
- Members of the military reserves on active duty, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the military reserves on active duty.
Emergency ballots due to sickness or physical disability
An emergency ballot due to sickness or physical disability is available to voters who have a sudden sickness or disability that prevents them from voting in person at the polling place during the voting period.
If a voter has a new sickness or physical disability that originated on or after Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, the day before the last day to submit an application to vote by mail, that voter can vote in the election with the help of a representative who can deliver the voter's emergency ballot application and balloting materials to the county on the voter's behalf.
How does the process work?
1. Beginning Thursday, Oct.22, 2026, a voter may complete an Application for an Emergency Early Voting Ballot due to Sickness or Physical Disability (PDF).
- The application requires a physician to complete a certificate stating that the voter has a sickness or physical condition that will prevent the voter from appearing at a polling place in person and that the sickness or physical condition began on or after Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, the day before the last day to submit an application for voting by mail.
- The voter must provide a Texas Driver's License Number, or a Texas Personal Identification Card Number or a Texas Election Identification Certificate Number. If the voter does not have one of the aforementioned numbers, the voter must provide the last four digits of their Social Security Number. If the voter has not been issued one of the required numbers, the voter must check the box that says they have not been issued one of the required numbers.
2. The voter then gives the completed emergency ballot application to someone who will act as the voter's representative, who then delivers the application in person to the Early Voting Clerk's office.
To be eligible to serve as a voter's representative, a person:
1. Must be at least 18 years old
2. Must not be employed by or related to a candidate whose name appears on the ballot; and
3. Must not have served in the election as the representative for another applicant.
The Early Voting Clerk will process the application and provide the representative with ballot-by-mail materials to bring to the voter. The representative will then hand-deliver the voting materials to the voter.
The voter then fills out their ballot, puts it in the carrier envelope, provides the pertinent number in the appropriate place on the envelope and signs their name across the flap.
If the voter is unable to sign their name or make a mark on the carrier envelope, then the voter may use a witness. The witness must complete the required information on the witness portion of the carrier envelope.
The same representative who delivered the emergency ballot application to the voter must also take the ballot to the voter and deliver the carrier envelope to the Early Voting Clerk's office when the voter has completed the voting process.
The deadline for returning a marked ballot is 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
