Understanding the Requirements for Voting by Mail

ALL CAMPAIGN

(Quick Update)

There have been a few instances brought to RPT attention about assisted living/nursing homes and voting my mail.  The hope is that this will help you and others in the county be proactive to make sure we are reducing voter fraud and that all laws are being followed. We hope this helps! 

Texas Election Code:  Understanding the Requirements for Voting by Mail

Many assisted living and skilled nursing centers are committed to assisting their residents in various elections, particularly the Presidential election. However well-intentioned the staff at these centers may be, there are certain legal restrictions and requirements that must be met regarding who can assist a voter, who may mail the request and ballot, etc. as detailed below. If these are not followed, penalties including misdemeanor charges can occur.

The Application for Voting by Mail:[1]

May not be submitted more than 60 days before Election Day and must be received in the Early Voting Clerk's office by close of business on the 7th Day before Election Day.  [TEC 38]

Must include:

ü Name of the voter

ü Residence address

ü  Voting precinct

Ø An assistant may NOT assist more than one voter’s application that is not a relative of the assistant.       [TEC 84.004]

Ø Name, address, relationship to the voter, and signature of an assistant must be provided (if the voter was assisted)

Ø Must be signed by person assisting another voter in filling out an application, with their name and address, and relationship to the voter.   [TEC 84.003]

Ø Ballot must be mailed in the US Mail or delivered by a common carrier, such as a delivery service that delivers other packages, e.g. FedEx, UPS, etc. [TEC 86.005, 86.0051

Ø Ballot must not be hand-delivered to the Elections Administrator.  [TEC 86.006]

Ø A person assisting the voter in filling out the ballot or handling the carrier envelope must sign and provide their name in the space provided.  [TEC 86.010]

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[1]  Source:  Texas Election Code



SREC UPDATE

Check out our Sept. 15th South Texas Precinct Chairmans' Conference and Candidate Forum Video. What a turn out! Thanks to everyone who attended. 

NATIONAL CONVENTION RECAP

Chairman Munisteri and Governor Perry participated in a nationally-promoted Google+ hangout with delegation members Angie Flores Granado and Anne Mazone. The Chairman and the Governor gave an insider analysis of the excitement of the convention, a quick preview of Governor Romney's speech and the delegates gave their viewpoints on the work being accomplished by the Texas delegation during the week. Check out the video here: Google Hang Out with Gov. Rick Perry and Chairman Munisteri


EARLY VOTING DATES

Oct. 22-26
8am-5pm

Oct. 27
7am-7pm

Oct. 28
12pm-5pm

Oct. 29-Nov.2
7am-7pm

EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS

So... have you voted already?