Information About Voting

League of Women Voters^®
of Richardson

Eligibility. Registration. Elections. Races.

Who is eligible to vote in Texas?

You are eligible to vote in Texas elections if you are:

a citizen of the United States
18 years old on or before election day
not a convicted felon (unless your sentence, probation, and parole have been completed)
not declared mentally incompetent by a court of law
registered to vote

How do I register to vote?

Any time you go in person to apply for or make changes to your driver's license, you can register to vote with the Department of Public Safety.
You can also register in person at your county's Voter Registrar's office.
You can always register by mail. You can pick up the registration application form at:

the county Voter Registrar's office or Elections Department website (Dallas or Collin County)
the Secretary of State's office or website
libraries
many post offices
many high schools

Once you have filled out a registration application, fill in the city and zip code on the front and drop it in any mailbox (no postage required).

For Dallas County residents, the city and zip code are Dallas 75207
For Collin County residents, the city and zip code are McKinney 75069

For more specific information about registration in a question-and-answer format, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

How do I find out about elections?

You can find out about elections on the Upcoming Elections page of this website. In addition, you can get information from your county Elections department (Dallas or Collin).
The Texas Secretary of State is in charge of all elections in Texas, and that office's website is the definitive source for all information about registration and voting.
For more specific information about elections in a question-and-answer format, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

What races will be on the ballot?

In Texas, we vote on LOTS of offices, and it can be confusing for voters. Your ballot may not have the same races on it as the ballot in another city or county will. How can you find out which races you will be voting on in an upcoming election?

Voter Registration Certificate

The first place to look for answers is on your Texas Voter Registration Certificate. This card tells you your precinct number and which election districts you are in.
Click here for a page explaining what all those numbers on your certificate mean, and how you can use them to figure out which races you'll be seeing on your ballot. [NOTE: This is a rather large pdf file, and may download somewhat slowly if you are using a dialup Internet connection. In order to open this file, you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available at no cost from http://www.adobe.com].

Texas Legislature website

Another way to find out who your federal and state representatives are is to go to the Legislature's webpage and fill in your adress. The site should automatically tell you who your representatives are, but sometimes it doesn't work very well.

County Elections Department website

The website of your county Elections Department (Dallas and Collin) may have a search feature for you to see a sample ballot for your particular precinct.
Once you know which races will be on your ballot, you can research the candidates' qualifications, backgrounds, and positions on issues. Among the best sources of nonpartisan information on candidates and ballot issues are Voters Guides published by the League of Women Voters. You can find links to current Voters Guides on the Upcoming Elections page of this website.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: July 30, 2008 08:37 PDT.