How To Vote in Houston

Everything a voter in Houston and Harris County needs for the November 3, 2026 general election: who can register and how, what ID to bring, when and where to vote early, how mail ballots work, and where to find every office on the ballot with the person who holds it now.

Register or update your registration by Monday, October 5, 2026. Texas has no same-day registration and no true online registration, so a mailed application must be postmarked by that date.

Early voting runs Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 30. Any registered Harris County voter can vote at any early voting site in the county.

Want to vote by mail? Your application must be received by Friday, October 23. The ballot must be back by 7 p.m. on Election Day (or 5 p.m. November 4 if the envelope is postmarked).

Bring one of the seven accepted photo IDs. If you have none, you can still vote by signing a Reasonable Impediment Declaration at the polls.

You can register and vote in Harris County if you are a U.S. citizen, a Harris County resident, and will be 18 by Election Day (you can register at 17 years and 10 months). You cannot vote if a court has declared you mentally incompetent, or if you are still serving a felony sentence — including parole, probation, or community supervision.

Texas gives your vote back once you have fully discharged your sentence: prison, parole, probation, and supervision all complete, or a pardon. It is not just time served — every part of the sentence has to be finished. Then you register like anyone else. If your situation is complicated, the Texas State Law Library recommends confirming with an attorney before you register.

Texas requires one of seven forms of photo ID at the polls:

• Texas driver license (DPS)
• Texas Election Identification Certificate (EIC)
• Texas personal identification card (DPS)
• Texas license to carry a handgun (DPS)
• U.S. military ID card with photo
• U.S. citizenship certificate with photo
• U.S. passport (book or card)

If you are 18 to 69, the ID can be expired up to four years and still count. If you are 70 or older, an expired ID is fine as long as it is otherwise valid. The citizenship certificate never expires.

You still vote. Sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration at the polling place — no separate application, no advance notice. Qualifying reasons include lack of transportation, disability or illness, missing documents, work schedule, family responsibilities, a lost or stolen ID, or one you applied for but have not received. You also show one supporting document with your name: a voter registration certificate, a current utility bill, a bank statement, a government check or paycheck, or a certified birth certificate.

Registered voters with no acceptable ID can get a free Election Identification Certificate at any Texas DPS driver license office.

The deadline is always 30 days before the election. For November 3, 2026, that is Monday, October 5, 2026. Texas has no same-day registration.

Fill out a voter registration application — pick one up at any post office, library, or Harris County Clerk office, or request one online and mail it in — and return it to the Harris County Clerk’s Elections Department, postmarked by the deadline. Volunteer deputy registrars at community events can also take your application.

If you are renewing or updating a Texas driver license or ID card online, you can register to vote or update your address in the same session. That is the only online path — Texas has no standalone online registration.

Registrations get flagged for old addresses and returned mail. If you moved, changed your name, or have not voted in a while, look yourself up before the deadline. A Texas driver license address change updates your voter registration automatically.

Texas runs open primaries: you do not register with a party. Each primary election you pick the Republican or Democratic ballot that day (never both). If nobody in a race wins a majority, the top two go to a runoff. The November 3 general election is open to every registered voter no matter which primary, if any, you voted in.

Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 30, 2026, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. most days (Sunday, October 25 opens at noon). Any registered Harris County voter can vote early at any early voting location in the county — same ballot, same count, usually shorter lines than Election Day.

Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Harris County uses countywide vote centers: you can vote at any open location in the county, not just one assigned to your address. If you are in line by 7 p.m., you get to vote.

Texas mail voting is limited to voters who are 65 or older on Election Day, sick or disabled, expecting to give birth within three weeks of Election Day, away from Harris County for all of early voting and Election Day, confined in jail but otherwise eligible, or civilly committed. Your application must be received by Friday, October 23, 2026. The ballot must be back by 7 p.m. on Election Day (or 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 4 if the carrier envelope is postmarked). You apply separately for each election.

Dates change every cycle. Confirm against the official calendar before you plan around anything printed here.

Because Harris County uses countywide vote centers, there is no single assigned polling place to memorize — early or on Election Day, you can vote at any open location. Locations shift between elections, so use the live lookup, which also shows wait times.

Harris County publishes the confirmed list for each election about two to three weeks before early voting starts. These sites were active in the most recent countywide election and tend to recur — confirm before you go.

Harris County has also used NRG Park as a central high-capacity voting hub in past countywide elections — check the live lookup to see if it is active this time.

Every polling place has accessible voting equipment. If you cannot enter the building, ask for curbside voting — an election officer brings a ballot to your vehicle. You may bring someone to help you vote, as long as it is not your employer or union representative.

Your exact ballot depends on your address: congressional district, state house and senate districts, county commissioner precinct, constable and justice of the peace precinct, school district, and judicial districts. Two people on the same block can see different judicial races.

Most people know the mayor and the president. The offices in between decide your property tax, your roads and flood control, who prosecutes cases, and who sits on the bench. Houston Politics names the person in every seat.

Not on the November 2026 ballot. Houston runs its own odd-year cycle — the next city election is November 2027. The Mayor (John Whitmire) runs city government and proposes the budget; the City Controller (Chris Hollins) independently audits city finances; the 16-member City Council (11 districts plus 5 at-large) passes ordinances, sets the tax rate, and approves the budget. Four-year terms, two-term limit.

The County Judge (Lina Hidalgo, not seeking re-election — this seat is on the November 3 ballot) presides over Commissioners Court and leads county disaster response. Four Precinct Commissioners — Rodney Ellis (1), Adrian Garcia (2), Tom S. Ramsey (3), Lesley Briones (4) — set the county budget and tax rate and run roads, parks, and flood control; Precincts 2 and 4 are on this ballot. You also elect the District Attorney (Sean Teare), County Attorney (Abbie Kamin, appointed 2026; on this ballot), Sheriff (Ed Gonzalez), County Clerk (Teneshia Hudspeth), District Clerk (Marilyn Burgess), Treasurer, Tax Assessor-Collector, and eight Constables and sixteen Justices of the Peace by precinct.

Harris County elects roughly 90 trial judges — civil, criminal, family, juvenile, and probate district and county courts — plus the justices of the 1st and 14th Courts of Appeals, all in partisan races for four- or six-year terms. Judicial races are the longest part of a Harris County ballot.

The Governor (Greg Abbott), Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, and one Railroad Commissioner are all on the November 3 ballot, along with your State Senator and State Representative, State Board of Education seat, and Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals places.

Two U.S. Senators serve six-year terms; House members serve two. Every Harris County congressional seat is on this ballot, plus one U.S. Senate seat — the one held by John Cornyn, who is serving out his term after losing the May 2026 Republican primary runoff. Ted Cruz’s seat is not up until 2030.

Harris Votes (harrisvotes.com, 713-755-6965) — the county elections office: registration, vote centers, mail ballots, results.

VoteTexas.gov — the Secretary of State’s voter site for ID rules and statewide dates.

League of Women Voters of Houston — nonpartisan voter guide with candidate answers in their own words (vote411.org).

VoteRiders — free help getting the ID or documents you need to vote.

Texas Civil Rights Project and Houston NAACP — election protection hotlines if you are turned away or your ballot is challenged: 866-OUR-VOTE.

Reading list, all at the Houston Public Library: Give Us the Ballot (Ari Berman), One Person, No Vote (Carol Anderson), Bending Toward Justice (Gary May), The Voting Booth (Brandy Colbert), and Thick (Tressie McMillan Cottom).

Verified September 2026 against the Texas Secretary of State calendar and Harris Votes. Dates and officeholders change — the official links above always win.