Galveston County voters who missed the Oct. 23 deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot still have two narrow emergency options before the Nov. 3 election.
Both paths carry strict eligibility rules and short windows, KPRC 2 reporter Christian Hudspeth reported Sunday, Oct. 25. Most voters who missed the deadline will need to vote in person during early voting, which runs through Friday, Oct. 30, or on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Sudden illness or disability
Voters who develop a qualifying illness or physical disability that began on or after Thursday, Oct. 22, may apply for an emergency early voting ballot. The condition must prevent the voter from appearing at a polling place without risking injury to their health or needing personal assistance, according to KPRC 2's reporting on Texas law.
A licensed physician must certify the condition and when it began. The voter can designate a representative who is at least 18 years old to deliver the application, pick up the ballot and return it to the county's early voting clerk. That representative cannot have already served in that role for another voter in this election.
The deadline: 5 p.m. on Nov. 3. The completed ballot must be returned by 7 p.m. that day.
An existing illness or disability does not qualify. The condition must have developed after the regular application period closed.
Death in the family
Texas law also provides an emergency procedure for voters who must leave Galveston County because of a death in their immediate family. The death must occur on or after Thursday, Oct. 29, and require the voter to be outside their home county on Election Day.
Eligibility is limited to relatives within the second degree by blood or marriage, including parents, children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren.
Unlike the medical emergency path, this option requires the voter to appear in person at the main early voting polling place. The application window runs from Saturday, Oct. 31, through the close of business on Monday, Nov. 2.
Military and overseas voters
The Oct. 23 deadline also applied to Federal Post Card Applications used by military personnel and U.S. citizens living abroad. Military and overseas voters who applied on time but have not received their ballots may be able to use a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) as a backup, KPRC 2 reported. The FWAB is not a replacement for a missed deadline.
Already applied? Check your status.
Voters who submitted applications before Oct. 23 can still receive and return their ballots. Completed mail-in ballots must arrive by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. Ballots postmarked by 7 p.m. Nov. 3 can still be counted if received by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4.
The Galveston County Clerk's Elections Division can be reached at 409-770-5108 for questions about eligibility or ballot status.
