Vote Plan (#5)

blackboard with Vote Plan chalked on it

The Vote Plan

A Disability Guide to Voting

What is your first name?

Welcome, ! Are you ready to build your vote plan? We will ask you a series of questions, and you will build your plan through the answers you give to these questions. Along the way, we will supply information and resources that enable you to carry out your plan. In the end, you will find the smoothest path to executing your right to vote.

To be eligible to vote you must,

Be a citizen of the United States,
Be at least 18 years old on election day,
Not be imprisoned or on probation for committing a felony, and
Have not been declared by a judge to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

When you are ready, , click to continue.

Description of the image

Registered to Vote

Let's start with registration. You either are or are not registered, or maybe you are registered but can't remember for sure, or maybe you're registered but moved to a new residence or changed your name since you registered.

Whatever your status, , we're here to help

Show Options

Show Next Question

Are you registered to vote?

Absolutely

Not Yet

I'm Not Sure

I've Changed my Address or Name

No problem, ! Just click the button below and fill in the information to the right under "Are You Registered." You can also call your the voter registrar's office in the county where you reside. They can tell you if you are registered to vote.

Come back when you know.

Am I Registered?

Were you registered?

Yes

Then today is the day to get started, !

There are many ways you can register to vote, but the fastest and easiest way is online. You can begin the registration process online at the Texas Secretary of State (SOS) site, After filling in your information, you can download, print, and mail your application.

If you don't have a printer or simply prefer a paper application, one can be mailed to you from the Texas SOS or you can call your county voter registrar to request an application be mailed to you You can also find applications at local libraries. And if you are a high school student, your school's principal is required to be a deputy voter registrar, and your school will have voter registration applications.

Important!

The deadline for registering to vote is the 30th day prior to an election. Because the USPS distribution sites have changed, mail dropped off at a USPS retail location or collected by a carrier is no longer assured a postmark that same day. You should send postmark-sensitive mail as early as possible. If it is the deadline day when you decide to mail the application, you can go to your local USPS retail location and ask for a manual postmark when you take your registration application to the retail counter. The manual postmark is free.

Since you'll soon be registered, would you like to continue with your Vote Plan?

Yes

Goodbye, .

Please come back when you're registered!

Exit Here

That is easy to fix, ! But you will need your current Texas driver's license or state ID card, social security number, and Voter Registration Certificate (VRC), that colorful voting card they send us every other year. You need the VRC to acquire your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID), which is in the first box of the VRC. If you cannot find a VRC, you can acquire your VUID from your County Voter Registrar's office.

Click on the button below and follow the instructions to update your name or address.

Come back after you update your information.

Name or Address Change

Description of the image

Great, !

Let's move right along now to the identification you will need. In Texas, you must present a photo ID to vote. You can choose from these seven options,

Texas driver's 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,
United States military identification card containing a photograph,
United States Citizenship Certificate containing a photograph, or
United States passport (book or card).

If you are a naturalized citizen and use a temporary or limited term driver's license or state ID card acquired before becoming a citizen, you must take your naturalization certificate or card with you to vote.

If you have one of the above forms of ID but it expired up four years ago, you may still use it as your ID for voting. If you are over 70+ years old, the ID can be expired any number of years and still be valid for voting.

Do you possess one of these forms of photo ID?

Yes

A person could lack these accepted IDs for reasons beyond their control: perhaps they lost their wallet or someone stole it. If this happens near election day, they may not have time to get replacements. In these situations, a person has what is called a "reasonable impediment" to getting an accepted ID. These impediments include family responsibilities; lack of a birth certificate or other documents needed to get an ID; disability or illness; or as in the first case, a lost or stolen ID.

Despite these possibilities, you may still be able to vote without any of the seven central IDs. If you find yourself in such a situation, do the following when you vote—this option is only available when voting in person. Explain your problem to an election official and present them with any ID-supporting documents you have, such as a birth certificate or the original or copy of one of the following:

a current utility bill,
a bank statement,
a government check,
a paycheck, or
a government document bearing your name and an address

For a government document, your Voter Registration Certificate (that card we get in the mail every other year) would be the best choice. It also has your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID) number in the first box, which you will need to complete the form I'm about to cover.

After you explain your circumstances to an election official, they will ask you to complete and sign a form called the Reasonable Impediment Declaration. In this form you check the box next to the impediment (e.g., a lost or stolen ID) you are claiming. You sign and date it. And your VUID is required. So you know what to expect, you can download the form. Election officials are not allowed to challenge or question the reasonableness of your claim or demand that you supply evidence.

If you have none of the documents above, you may still cast a provisional ballot.

THERE'S MORE ON THIS...

Would you like more options on IDs—such as a Permanent Exemption from requiring photo ID if you are disabled or free help obtaining an accepted ID—or would you like to move on to the next section of the Vote Plan?

More info on IDs or Next Section?

More Information on IDs!

Move to Next Section

For long-term ID peace of mind, I will mention a few options you may find helpful.

But before we explore these options, it is understandable if you still find the option below daunting. If you do, please visit the VoteRiders web site, and especially their Free Help getting ID online form.

If you possess none of the documents needed to acquire an accepted form of ID, what can you do? When the photo ID requirement went into effect on January 1, 2018, people in that position were essentially disenfranchised. The Texas Election Identification Certificate (EIC) intends to remedy this problem. It is your first and best option in this situation.

You are ineligible for an EIC if you possess any of the other six accepted forms of ID—unless they expired more than 4 years ago. You must schedule an appointment at any DPS location. To qualify for an EIC, you must complete the EIC form, take documentation to verify you are a U.S. citizen, provide documentation verifying your identity, be registered to vote (or submit a registration application through DPS at the meeting), be a Texas resident, and be at least 17 years and 10 months old.

All documents must be originals or certified copies; laminated and photocopied documents will be rejected. They must all have the same name, or else you will have to supply documents verifying the name change. If you lack the approved forms of ID, the best documents to prove citizenship will be a birth certificate, U.S. Citizenship Certificate, or Certificate of Naturalization with an identifiable photograph.

The list of identity documents is long. But if you have a birth certificate, you only need two from the long list of possible "identity supporting documents."

Here is a second option. If you are disabled, you may apply for a permanent exemption from the requirement to show photo ID to vote. To qualify, you first need one of two documents:

1. A letter from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) verifying your disability, or

2. A letter from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) verifying that you have a disability rating of more than 50% from the VA.

A letter from SSA showing that you receive benefits establishes that you are disabled.
In the second case, a veteran or someone writing on their behalf must request a rating percentage letter from the VA. The veteran may already have such a rating given to them when the disability determination was made.

To receive this exemption, you must submit one of the above letters and a completed Disability Exemption form to your County Voting Registrar. You must also show one of the seven accepted forms of ID, but once you have the exemption, you will never again have to worry about lost, stolen, or expired IDs.

For more information on this exemption and how to apply for it at your County Voting Registrar go here at Disability Rights Texas.

Finally, if all else fails, consider voting by mail ballot. You can apply to vote by mail with only the last 4 digits of your social security number.

What would you like to do now?

Continue with the Vote Plan

Go Directly to the Vote By Mail Section of the Plan

Come Back After Rectifying Your ID Issue

Goodbye, .

Please come back when you resolve your ID issue!

Exit Here

Having the correct ID is very important! But the system often fails to work as well as it should. As added security, take your colorful Voter Registration Certificate with you. Yes, they almost never ask for this certificate, but if you run into a problem verifying your identity, your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID) in the certificate's first box can resolve many issues.

Did you know?

A letter from the U.S. Social Security Administration verifying your disability could get you a permanent exemption from the photo ID requirement? Read more about it here at Disability Rights Texas

Now let's move on to the important question of how you will vote.

The biggest decision for disabled voters is whether to vote by mail or in person. Which do you presently prefer?

In-Person Voting

Ballot by Mail

Description of the image

In-Person Voting

Voting in person brings a new set of considerations for your vote plan. Should you vote in the polling location, at its entrance, or curbside? And when will you vote: on Election Day or during the early voting period?

However you choose to vote, in person or by mail, a key part of your plan should account for the high probability of obstacles. Do not wait for Election Day. If things go badly, you want a chance to fix it later.

You must first consider whether accessibility issues could obstruct your voting at a polling location. The Houston Chronicle found in 2023 that nearly half of Harris County's polling locations were inaccessible. While only 2 of the 701 locations fully complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act, 300 locations were not compliant and could not be made compliant with temporary alterations to the sites.

The Where and When of Voting in Person

If you commit to voting in person, when and where will you vote? Early Voting begins 17 days before Election Day—unless that 17th day before election falls on a weekend or legal state holiday—and ends the Friday (4 days) before Election Day.

As election day nears, you can find your polling locations, early voting days, registration deadlines, information on the races and candidates, and much more at this League of Women Voters site. An alternative is the Texas Voting Portal. Fill in the information for "Are You Registered?" If you are registered, you will be taken to the portal. Be aware that where someone voted during an early voting period may not be the same location where you must vote on Election Day. Or where you voted on past Election Days may not be where you vote this year. So, if your mother or friend voted early and you are voting on Election Day, be glad they voted, but consult one of the two sites above to find your polling location.

Many disabled people who prefer to vote in person cannot drive, do not own an automobile, or live in areas without adequate public transportation.

Will you need a ride to the polls?

Yes

Ride to the Polls

Since you may need help getting to the polls, go to this page at the Disability Rights Texas site. Their Find a Ride Guide is an spreadsheet that you can view with Microsoft Excel or, for free, with Google Sheets. The Guide connects you to information for getting a ride with

public transit,
paratransit,
taxi services,
Uber & Lyft,
rideshares, or through
major political parties.

Click on the button below to download the Guide. We will update it in our Voting Resources page as newer editions become available.

Find a Ride Guide

Curbside Voting

Every polling location must designate a clearly marked space for curbside voting, both on Election Day and the entire early voting period. You qualify for curbside voting if,

You have a physical condition that prevents your entering the polling location without assistance or risking your health, or.
You need it as an accommodation for your disability.

This applies to those who can reach the polling location entrance but believe they cannot safely vote inside. Curbside voters must now sign a sworn oath, "under penalty of perjury," affirming their physical condition and the health risk if they vote inside. If a voter chooses not to sign the oath, they cannot vote curbside.

Anyone (a driver, attendant, etc.) accompanying a person who signs the oath may vote also without signing an oath.

Polling locations with four or more election officers are now required to have two election officers deliver ballots to curbside voters.

For more information on the important 2025 changes to curbside voting, see this handout from Disability Rights Texas.

Will you need assistance voting?

Yes

Assistance Voting

You have the right to receive assistance reading and marking your ballot. You can ask a friend or relative to help you, or any other person you choose except the following: your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your union.

The person helping must read the entire ballot unless you explicitly ask them to read only certain parts. The person helping you is required to take an oath affirming that they will mark your ballot exactly as you request. It is illegal to mark the ballot other than how you request, to influence your voting decisions, or to tell anyone else how you voted.

If the voter selects a polling place official to assist them, poll watchers and election inspectors can observe the voting process. However, if the voter chose any other assistant, no one else is permitted to watch the voting process or results.

Would you like to view information on your voting rights—such as the right to move to the front of the line to vote or cast a provisional ballot?

Of course!

What are "fundamental" rights? They are rights "deeply rooted" in our nation's history and vital to what it mean to live in a democracy. They are such that "neither liberty or justice would exist if they were sacrificed."
Because of this, special protections or accommodations must be in place to ensure that nothing interferes with the legitimate exercise of a fundamental right.

Disabled people have the same right to vote as any other citizen. But inaccessible locations and voting machines remain a serious problem. Be aware of your legal rights and the required accommodations.

Among other things polling locations must have,

Accessible Parking.

A ground-floor voting area or accessible elevators as well as permanent or temporary ramps along any interior route to the polls.

Special voting devices such as a communication board, different colored voting screens, a sip and puff device, and headphones to hear your ballot.

Sample ballots in alternative formats.

Among other rights, you have the right to,

Be placed at the front of the line to vote. (You do not have to supply evidence that you are disabled to anyone.)

Vote by yourself and make your own choices. The assistance of others cannot be forced upon you. (Unrequested help or attempts to influence your vote are illegal.)

Cast your vote privately without anyone else watching you or interfering with you. This includes poll workers and poll watchers.

Assistance reading or marking your ballot from a person you choose.

Interpreters, both for communicating with election officials in a language other than English, and for those who communicate only with ASL. An interpreter can also interpret your ballot for you in the voting booth.

A provisional ballot if there is any doubt that you are eligible to vote. You must be allowed to complete and cast the provisional ballot. The ballot will be counted after election officials confirm your eligibility.

For a more thorough account of these rights and accommodations, go here.

This is the end of the in-person voting segment of the Vote Plan. We hope that we supplied you the information you need to construct a plan. But maybe it has left you curious about ballot by mail. If so, click below and continue the quest.
Otherwise, go to our closing remarks and resources.

Where to go from here?

Ballot by mail section

Resources

Goodbye, .

Thanks for using The Vote Plan!

Resources

Voting by Mail Ballot

Voting by mail consists of only a few steps, but things can easily go wrong at each step.

First, let's review who can vote by mail in Texas. To be eligible, you must be,

65 years old or older,

Sick or disabled,

Out of the county on election day and during the early voting period,

Expecting to give birth within 3 weeks before or 3 weeks after the election, or

Confined in jail, but otherwise eligible to vote.

Step one: Obtain, complete, and mail the application needed to vote by mail. In Texas, Mail-in ballots must be requested every year. If you apply for mail-in ballots because you are disabled or at least 65 years old, the application counts for the entire calendar year.

You can download the Application for Ballot By Mail (ABBM) directly from the Texas Secretary of State website or from us by clicking on these buttons.

Application:

ABBM

Extra instructions for ABBM:

Instructions

If you need a hard copy of the application, call your County Election Office to request one be sent to you, or fill out this online request form for an paper application.

Section 1 of the application begins by asking for your basic information. The name and address you give in the application must match the name and address you used when you registered to vote, even if that is not where you want the ballot sent. Answering the lower half of section 1 is optional, but you should supply responses to all fields if possible, including telephone number and email address. If you have not been issued a driver's license, state ID, or Election Identification Certificate, including your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID) and precinct number can only help you. You can find the precinct number and VUID on your Voter Registration Certificate (VRC)—that voting card mailed to you every even-numbered year.
Although VRCs vary, the VUID and precinct number usually sit in the boxes circled in the image.

Description of the image

Show Images

Closeup VUID

Closeup Pct. Num.

Show VRC

On the right-hand side of section 1, the application instructs you to supply your driver's license number, Texas ID card number, or Election Identification Certificate number. If you have one of these forms of identification you must use it, even if it has expired.

If you have not been issued one of those IDs, it instructs you to supply the last four digits of your Social Security Number. If you have no Social Security Number, you must check the box stating so.

The key point is that you must use the ID number you used when you registered to vote.

On the other hand, if you registered using one of the three photo IDs, it is recommended that you also include the last four digits of your Social Security Number, in case, for example, you make a mistake writing your ID number.

Section 2 gives you the option to have the ballot sent to a location other than your residence. Section 3 requests your reason for wanting the mail-in ballot.

App 1

Closeup IDs

Sec. 3

Description of the image

Section 4 requests your signature and the date of signing to certify that the information you provide is true, and warns that providing false information is a crime. Section 5 concerns any witness or assistant involved in completing your application for mail-in ballot. Both of these sections should be read carefully.

A witness is someone who saw you make your mark or, if you could not make a mark, signs on your behalf. The witness should not sign for you in section 4, but sign their own name where indicated in section 5. The witness must also state their relationship to the applicant. It is illegal to be witness to more than one applicant in a single election or more than one applicant for an annual application ballot by mail in the same calendar year, unless you are related to each applicant as a parent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, or child.

An assistant is someone who helps the applicant fill out the application in the applicant's presence, or who submits it (by mail, email, or fax) on their behalf. Failure to disclose this assistance in section 5 is also illegal.

Description of the image

Fill out and send your application to your county's Early Voting Clerk as quickly as you can. The application must be received by the Early Voting Clerk by the 11^th day before election day—unless the 11^th day is on a weekend; then they are due the preceding business day.

Here is another reason to send your application as early as possible: We all make mistakes. If you mess up on the application, your county election office is required to alert you of the problem and instruct you on how to fix it.

Important!

Because of changes made by the USPS's distribution sites, mail dropped off at a USPS retail location or collected by a carrier is no longer assured a postmark that same day. You should send postmark-sensitive mail as early as you can. If it happens to be the deadline day, you can go to your local USPS retail location and ask for a manual postmark when you take your registration or mail-in ballot application or completed ballot to the retail counter. The manual postmark is free.

FYI

If you become ill or disabled after the deadline for mail-in ballot applications, you can request a "late ballot" from your Early Voting Clerk. A representative of the applicant must make the request in person. It should include a certificate from a licensed physician (or chiropractor or accredited Christian Science practitioner) validating the illness or disability.

The Ballot

Be prepared to mark the ballot as soon as it arrives. This best ensures that your ballot will be received on time by your Early Voting Clerk.

Read instructions carefully

Mark your ballot only with a black or blue ink pen. Mark your ballot by filling in the ovals entirely with dark ink. Do not mark your choices with Xs, checks, or other methods. When you have finished marking your ballot, put it in the envelope labelled "Ballot Envelope" and seal it. Place the Ballot Envelope in the Carrier Envelope, but do not yet seal the Carrier Envelope. Do not include any other ballots in your Carrier Envelope; one ballot per Carrier Envelope.

Before you begin to fill out the Carrier Envelope with the required information read instructions carefully again.

As with the application for ballot by mail, you must include a photo ID number or the last four digits of your Social Security Number on the Carrier Envelope, depending on which you used when you registered to vote. Otherwise, check the box affirming that you have none of those IDs. Include your phone number and email address in the areas provided. Like the application for a mail-in ballot, the person assisting the voter must sign an oath. They will also be asked whether they received compensation or other benefits for assisting. Failing to report the assistance or falsely answering the questions is illegal. A witness to the voter's signature or mark or their inability to mark the ballot is required to supply their name and address.

Seal all glue strips on the Carrier Envelope and sign (if you can) across the flap.

Return your ballot!

Your county's Early Voting Clerk must receive ballots by 7:00pm on Election Day. While they fall well short of the best options, you have a few ways to return your ballot:

Mailed through the United States Postal Service,
Sent through commercial carriers, such as UPS and FedEX,
Hand-delivered by the voter to their county Early Voting Clerk (acceptable photo ID is required).

How do you know whether your ballot was received? Follow the Ballot by Mail Tracker. Fill in the "Are You Registered?" fields and you will be taken to the voting portal.

As with the application, we might err completing our ballots. If we do, our county's election office must notify us and instruct us on resolving the issue—errors can be resolved through the Tracker.

If your ballot by mail is rejected, you have six days after the election to fix the issue.

This is the end of the mail-in ballot voting segment of The Vote Plan. We hope that we supplied you the information you need to construct a plan. But maybe it has left you curious about voting in person. If so, restart the quest.

If you've made up your mind, continue to our closing thoughts and resources.

If, after doing everything required to vote, you still encounter obstacles to voting, call or email one of the organizations below.

Disability Rights Texas — (888) 796-8683, email: vote@drtx.org

Election Protection Hotline:

English: (866) 687-8683
Spanish: (888) 839-8682
Arabic: (844) 925-5287
Vietnamese, Bengali, Cantonese, Tagalog: (888) 274-8683

Democracy and Power

"Democracy" literally means to give "power to the people." Of all the forms of government history has contrived, democracy alone seeks to equally distribute political power to all citizens through the right to vote. You do not need to be born into a particular family to possess this political power, nor do you need to be rich, popular, or highly educated. You need only be an adult citizen. Those who seek absolute power work endlessly to undermine democracy and take away your power. Skeptics of democracy will tell you that voting is pointless—they want you to willingly give your power away. When we do not vote we help those who want to divest the people of their collective power and to strip them of the democratic liberties so many have given their lives to sustain. Resist them with the same relentless energy: research and vote every election. Use your power! With others. Always.

Democracy is not some thing we possess. It is something we do. It is a process we use, with others, to make a world we value, a world that values us. Democracy vanishes if we fail to utilize the power it grants us every opportunity we get. If today you have registered to vote for the first time. Congratulations. You have joined a political collective despised by autocrats, authoritarians, dictators, monarchs, and oligarchs more than any other group in history.

Click the Exit button on the next page to read, download, and print the resources mentioned in The Vote Plan.

Register Educate Vote

Goodbye!

Use Your Power!