EP: How to vote curbside (including signage requirements)

WHAT IS CURBSIDE VOTING?:

If you’re a Texas voter with concerns about your ability to vote due to barriers related to a physical disability, you can vote curbside. That means on your request, the poll worker can bring a voting machine to you outside the polling place, including to your parked car. 

WHO CAN VOTE CURBSIDE IN TEXAS?:

If you are physically unable to enter the polling place, you may ask that a poll worker bring a ballot to the entrance of the polling place or to a car parked at the curbside. 

WILL MY POLLING LOCATION HAVE CURBSIDE VOTING?:

YES. Every polling place in Texas must offer curbside voting to any voter who is physically unable to enter the polling place without assistance or injuring their health. You can vote curbside from your parked car or from outside the polling place entrance. 

Each polling location must have at least one parking spot that is designated for curbside voting. This parking spot cannot be the same spot as a regular handicap parking spot required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Each polling location must also have clearly visible signage that details how you request your curbside ballot. Some counties have a phone number to call or text that lets election workers know that you are at the polling location and you need to vote curbside.  Other counties will place a box with a button that alerts the election officials to your arrival when pushed. You can always contact your county’s election office prior to going to vote to find out which method your county uses.

After you mark the ballot, you give it to the election officer, who will put it in the ballot box. Or, at your request, a companion may hand you a ballot and deposit it for you.

Photo Credit: Disability Rights Texas 

(https://disabilityrightstx.org/en/home/)

IS CURBSIDE VOTING AVAILABLE DURING EARLY VOTING?:

YES. Curbside voting is available during Early Vote and on Election Day for every major election.

WHO DETERMINES IF A VOTER QUALIFIES FOR CURBSIDE VOTING?

THE VOTER determines that for themselves.  Poll workers and election officials do not have any legal authority to determine or verify a voter’s medical or disability status. 

PRO-TIP: The Texas Secretary of State suggests that if you need curbside voting and you plan to go vote, call ahead so election officials will expect you.  Find your county’s elections office contact information here: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/county.shtml

WHAT DO I DO IF I HAVE QUESTIONS OR FACE PROBLEMS AT THE POLLS?

CALL THE NON-PARTISAN 866-OUR-VOTE ELECTION PROTECTION HOTLINE. 

TCRP partners with great organizations like the Lawyers Committee, the Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU of Texas, Common Cause Texas, the League of Women Voters of Texas, and Disability Rights Texas to run the nonpartisan 866-OUR-VOTE hotline. During Early Voting and on Election Day, we have trained volunteers on-call who can answer your questions about voting in Texas.