Texas Resources for Voters with Disabilities

In Texas, you have the right to the following items as protected by federal law and election staff must be trained to understand these rights:

• Accessible voter registration
• Accessible polling places
• Policies and procedures that do not discriminate against you based on your disability
• Accessible, available, and operational voting systems
• Accompaniment by your service animal inside your polling place
• Assistance from a person of your choice 

In Texas, you also have the right to:

• Vote if you are registered in Texas
• Vote independently and privately
• Use an accessible voting machine (both on Election Day and during Early Voting).
• Assistance from a poll worker
• A voting process free from interference or coercion
• Alternative voting options, including curbside voting
• Register to vote at any state agency that provides disabled people assistance
• Register to vote even if you have a guardian, as long as your right to vote has not been revoked by a judge
• Request up to 3 ballots if you make a mistake
• Submit a complaint to your Secretary of State or election official

You may request assistance from a poll worker or receive assistance from a person of your choice with the following exceptions:

• your employer, an agent of your employer,
• an officer or agent of your union

You can bring along an interpreter (including an ASL interpreter) to your polling place to help you. If you do not have an interpreter with you, and you need that type of assistance, you must contact your election officials to request assistance before Election Day.

Someone assisting you can not attempt to influence your vote, fill out your ballot contrary to your wishes, or disclose who you voted for to anyone.

County Election Officials will document anyone who has assisted a total of seven or more voters. This requirement is for both early voting and election day combined. The following information is required:

• Name/address of the person helping
• Relationship to the voter
• Whether there was compensation or other benefit from a candidate, campaign, or political committee

A poll worker cannot coerce you into accepting assistance. Furthermore, a poll worker who helps you will need to:

• fill out Form 7-67
• complete further reports if helping seven or more voters

An assistant transporting seven or more voters to curbside voting will have to sign Form 7-65. This form can be emailed to the Secretary of State's office.

You can receive assistance while filling out your absentee ballot application. 

Your assistant will need to 

• print his or her name and address
• sign their name on the carrier envelope

You may use a single application to request ballots by mail for all county elections in the calendar year.

Federal law requires polling places to meet minimum compliance standards for individuals with disabilities

• The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 (VAEHA) requires accessible polling places in federal elections for elderly individuals and people with disabilities. Where no accessible location is available to serve as a polling place, voters must be provided an alternate means of voting in person on Election Day.
• The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) requires at least one accessible voting system for persons with disabilities at each polling place in federal elections. The accessible voting system must provide the same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and independence, that other voters receive. 

If you want to check that your polling location meets these standards or find an alternative polling location, contact your local election official.      

In Texas, an accessible voting machine should be available at every polling place.

• An exception is that there may not be an accessible voting machine in counties with less than 20,000 people for non-federal elections (state or local).
• All newly purchased voting systems are required to be accessible to voters with disabilities and provide a practical and effective means to cast a secret ballot.
• Accessible voting machines can accommodate no vision, low vision, no hearing, low hearing, limited manual dexterity, limited reach, limited strength, no mobility, low mobility, or any combination of the foregoing (except the combination of no hearing and no vision).
• Entrances and exits to polling places should be accessible using ramps, elevators, and paved sidewalks.
• Curbside voting will be available, which means a poll worker can bring a ballot to your car, and will place your completed ballot in the ballot box.
  • If you are going alone to vote curbside, Texas advises that you contact your election officials before you come so that they know to expect you
  • You will have a designated parking area
  • As of 2025, you will need to complete and sign a form affirming that you are unable to enter the polling location due to your disability

• List of Texas voting systems by county
   
• Details and instructions on how to use Texas's voting systems.

• To file a formal complaint with the Texas Secretary of State, fill out this form.
  • You can mail the form to Texas Secretary of State, Elections Division, c/o Legal Dept,. P.O. Box 12060 Austin, TX 78711, fax it to 512.475.2811, or email it to [email protected].
  • The Secretary of State will review your complaint and if they find the violation to be criminal, they may refer it to the Attorney General.
     
• You can also contact the Disability Rights Texas Voter Hotline at 1-888-796-VOTE (8683) or [email protected]. They can help you with your problem and give you advice about legal violations.
   
• The National Network of ADA Centers can provide local contact information for other organizations you may wish to contact, including your Regional ADA Center or ADA Knowledge Translation Center, or Federal Agencies and Resources.

• Voter Registration or Absentee Ballot Request
• Election Dates/Deadlines
• Election Official Directory
• US Vote Foundation's Voter Help Desk
• Department of Justice Civil Rights Violation Complaint Form
• Verified Voter Accessible Voting Machine Search