Completing and Mailing your Carrier Envelope
Once you receive your mail-in ballot, carefully review each choice in each race or proposition to be voted on, and mark your choices in accordance with the instructions on the ballot envelope.
After your mark your ballot, place your voted ballot in the envelope marked "BALLOT ENVELOPE" and seal the ballot envelope.
Next, place the ballot envelope in the carrier envelope (PDF). BEFORE SEALING THE CARRIER ENVELOPE, YOU MUST INCLUDE IN THE SPACE PROVIDED (PDF):
- The number of your driver license, election identification certificate, or personal identification card issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS);
- The last four digits of your social security number, if you have not been issued any of the abovementioned numbers by DPS; OR
- A statement that you have not been issued a number described by (1) or (2) above.
Next, seal the carrier envelope, sign the carrier envelope, and return your carrier envelope to the Early Voting Clerk either by mail, by common or contract carrier, or in person on Election Day at your county’s early voting clerk’s office.
A list of Early Voting Clerk addresses in each county can be found here.
The Early Voting Clerk must receive your marked ballot by the following date and time:*
- 7:00 p.m. by election day if the carrier envelope is not postmarked (see below for possible exceptions)
- The deadline to receive ballots mailed within the United States from non-military and military voters who submitted an Application for Ballot by Mail (“ABBM”) is 5:00 p.m. on the day after election day. The carrier envelope must have a postmark showing it was mailed by 7:00 p.m. on election day.
- The deadline to receive ballots mailed from non-military and military voters who mailed ballots from overseas and who submitted an Application for Ballot by Mail (“ABBM”) is the fifth day after election day. The carrier envelope must have a postmark showing it was mailed by 7:00 p.m. on election day.
- The deadline to receive ballots mailed from non-military voters who mailed ballots from overseas and who submitted a Federal Post Card Application (“FPCA”) is the fifth day after election day. The carrier envelope must have a postmark showing it was mailed by 7:00 p.m. on election day.
- The deadline to receive ballots mailed from military voters who mailed ballots domestically or from overseas and who submitted a Federal Post Card Application (“FPCA”) is the sixth day after election day. The carrier envelope does not need to have a postmark.
*If the deadline for the arrival of a ballot voted by mail falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state or national holiday, then the deadline is extended to the next regular business day.
Please note: The United States Postal Service (USPS) has made adjustments to their transportation operations. As a result of those changes, some mailpieces will not be postmarked on the same day that the mailpiece is collected by a carrier or deposited at a Postal Service retail location.
This may affect postmark dates for mail ballots.
Voters can ensure that a postmark is applied to their mail ballot envelope, and that the date on the postmark matches the date of mailing, by visiting a USPS retail location and requesting a manual (local) postmark at the retail counter when presenting their mail ballot envelope. Manual postmarks are provided free of charge.
We recommend that voters return their mail ballot as soon as possible to ensure the postmark date is on or before the required deadline.
