5.2: Voting in Texas Today

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In order to be eligible to vote in the presidential election in the United States, a person must be a citizen, resident, and eighteen years old. But additional rules and requirements are left to each state to decide. But some states make it very easy for people to vote, and some—like Texas—do not.

Wait, I’m 17, Can I Vote?

To vote in Texas you must be at least seventeen years and ten months of age when you put in your voting application, and it has to be postmarked or received by the county thirty days before the election. Some states are pushing this further to allow even sixteen-year-olds to vote.¹⁶ One argument frequently cited against allowing seventeen-year-olds, much less sixteen-year-olds, to vote is that at seventeen you are not mature enough to vote. What do you think? Many seventeen-year-olds work and help support their families. At seventeen you are old enough to join the military with your parent’s permission. What if you turn eighteen in the middle of an election year? You can vote in the November election, but not in the March primary in which the candidates are chosen. So, is this argument based in partisanship?

So, Who Can Vote in Texas?

To be eligible to register to vote in Texas, the following qualifications must be met:

You are a United States citizen;
You are a resident of the county where you submit the application;
You are at least seventeen years and ten months old, and you are eighteen years of age 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.¹⁷

So, How Does Voting Work?

Before most voters are allowed to cast a ballot, they must register to vote in their state. This process may be as simple as checking a box on a driver’s license application—known as the motor-voter law—or as difficult as filling out a long form with complicated questions. Voter registration allows governments to determine which citizens are allowed to vote. Need to register to vote? You can fill out an application online or request to have an application mailed to you by calling the Texas Secretary of State’s office toll-free at 1.800. 252.VOTE (8683).

Jonathan Bernstein, “The 16 Year Old Vote Is Worth Taking Seriously,” Bloomberg Opinion, Mar. 4, 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/ar...e-it-seriously.
“Register to Vote,” VoteTexas.Gov, powered by the Texas Secretary of State, https://www.votetexas.gov/register/index.html.