This midterm election year will bring people to the polls one last time for the November General Election where voters will decide who will represent them in county, state and national political seats.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and a third of the U.S. Senate seats are up for grabs. Texas is one of 39 states with gubernatorial elections this year with Beto O’Rourke challenging incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott. And Bexar County will elect a new county judge — the top elected official in the county — for the first time in 20 years as former district court judge Peter Sakai faces Trish DeBerry, former Pct. 3 county commissioner.
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If you have questions about how, when and where to vote — we’ve got the answers.
Get more election news on KSAT’s Vote 2022 page.
Key Dates & Deadlines for ahead of the Tuesday, November 8, 2022 General Election
- Tuesday, October 11 - Last day to register to vote
- Monday, October 24 - First day of early voting
- Friday, October 28 - Last day to apply for ballot by mail (Must be received, not postmarked by this date.)
- Friday, November 4 - Last day of early voting
- Tuesday, November 8 - Election Day. Absentee/mail-in ballots must be be postmarked or delivered by hand by 7 p.m. Ballots from overseas voters must be received by the 5th day after Election Day. Ballots from members of the armed forces must be received by the 6th day after election day.
Who is on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot?
Your Nov. 8 General Election ballot will include federal, state and county races.
The March Primary, followed by the Primary Election Runoff in May, determined which candidates would represent the Democrat and Republican parties on the November ballot. Texas recognizes four political parties — The Democratic Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party and Republican Party. The Green and Libertarian parties nominated candidates by convention so their candidates did not appear on the primary election ballot.
Now, those elected and nominated candidates will face off for a final time this election cycle on November 8.
If you are registered to vote in Bexar County, you can check out the ballot here.
Otherwise, you can check your county’s ballot here on the Texas Secretary of State’s website.
Who can vote in the election?
U.S. citizens who are 18 years old by election day and registered to vote by Oct. 11 in Texas can vote in the Nov. 8 election, unless prohibited by law.
Click here to check to see if you’re registered.
If I didn’t vote in the primary can I vote in the General Election?
Yes. If someone is registered to vote but did not vote in the March Primary, he or she will still be permitted to vote in the Nov. 8 election and can choose to vote for candidates of any political party.
How can I find out if I’m registered to vote?
Click here to check to see if you’re registered.
For the Nov. 8 election, the last day to register to vote in Texas is Oct. 11.
If I’m not already registered to vote, how do I register?
There are several ways to register.
You can fill out a voter registration application online. You will need to print it out and mail it to the voter registrar in your county of residence.
You can register in person at your county voter registration office. The Bexar County Elections office is located at 1103 S. Frio, Suite 100. If you live in a county other than Bexar, you can find out where to register in person here.
You can request a postage-paid application from your voter registrar by filling out this form.
What if I’ve lost my voter registration card?
You can notify your county voter registrar in writing to get a new one.
How do I find out which congressional or legislative district I live in and who currently represents me in state and federal elected positions?
You can enter your address on the Texas Legislature’s website and get a list of your state and federal representatives.
If you live in Bexar County, you can find information about all of the races in your precinct here.
You can find your precinct on your voter registration card or online. You can also check your county’s election website for precinct information.
When do I vote?
Registered voters can vote at the polls during the early voting period from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4, or vote at the polls on election day on Nov. 8 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Some voters may be eligible to vote by mail. (Scroll down for information about mail-in ballots.)
Click here for all of the election dates and deadlines.
Where do I vote?
Depending on which county you live in, you may be able to vote at any polling place in your county or you may have to vote in your specific precinct. Atascosa, Bexar, Comal, DeWitt, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall and Medina County are approved to use the Countywide Polling Place Program, which allows users to vote anywhere in their county during early voting and on election day.
Click here for a list of early voting locations in Bexar County.
If you do not live in one of those counties or prefer to vote in your precinct, you can check your poll location through your county or through the Secretary of State’s website.
Click here to view Bexar County’s voter precincts.
What do I need to bring to the polls?
You will be required to show identification to vote in Texas. Here is a list of the acceptable forms of photo ID:
- Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
- United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States Passport (book or card)
Your ID may be expired no more than four years unless you’re 70 years old, and then the acceptable form of ID can be expired for any length of time.
If a voter has one of the acceptable forms of IDs but forgets to bring it to the polling place, the voter can vote provisionally. That voter will then have six days to present a photo ID to the county voter registrar or fill out a natural disaster affidavit, or the vote will not count.
If you do not have one of the acceptable forms of ID and cannot reasonably obtain one, you can fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration at your place of voting and must show one of the following supporting forms of ID:
- copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter registration certificate;
- copy of or original current utility bill;
- copy of or original bank statement;
- copy of or original government check;
- copy of or original paycheck; or
- copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document).
Voters with a disability may apply with the county voter registrar for a permanent exemption to the photo ID requirement.
How do I vote?
Texas uses three methods to vote: (The following information comes directly from the Secretary of State’s office.)
- Paper ballots are still used as the primary way of voting in a number of Texas counties. Voters mark their ballot by hand with an indelible marker (a marker that cannot be erased) or pen and place their finished ballot in a ballot box. Local election officials then count the votes by hand.
- Optical scan voting systems enable voters to mark their choices on preprinted ballots by either connecting “arrows” or filling in “bubbles” next to the candidates’ names. The paper ballot is then inserted into an electronic ballot counter, which then counts the marked “bubbles” or “arrows” on each ballot and automatically computes the totals for each candidate and/or issue.
- DREs (Direct Record Electronic systems) enable voters to record their choices electronically directly into the machine. There are several types of DREs (some have a dial while others use a touch screen), but essentially they all enable voters to move back and forth between screens (ballot pages) to select the candidates and/or issues for whom they wish to vote. Once a voter has made his or her choices, the DRE provides a summary screen that presents those choices and gives the voter the ability to go back and make any changes before pressing the “Vote” or “Cast Ballot” button. One of the benefits of a DRE system is that it prevents “over-voting”; that is, it stops the voter from selecting two candidates or options in a race where only one is allowed. As well, a DRE gives the voter an opportunity to correct “under-voting,” or failing to select any candidate or option in a race.
Each voting location must offer at least one accessible voting system that enables the blind, elderly, physically disabled, and non-reading Texans to vote independently and in private.
Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page to see which system your county uses and get step-by-step voting instructions.
Who can vote by mail?
U.S. Armed Forces and Merchant Marines, their dependents and U.S. citizens who live abroad can vote early by mail. For more information, visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program website.
Mail/absentee ballot voting is also available to elderly voters and voters with physical disabilities. You may be eligible to vote by mail if you are:
- Going to be away from your county on Election Day and during early voting.
- Out-of-state college students who still claim a Texas address as their primary residence.
- Sick or disabled.
- 65 years of age or older on Election Day.
- Confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
Absentee/mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots from overseas voters must be received by the fifth day after Election Day. Ballots from members of the armed forces must be received by the 6th day after Election Day. Members of the military and other overseas voters can track the status of their ballot online.
Bexar County voters who are interested in voting by mail must submit this application to the Bexar County Elections Department no later than 11 days before Election Day (Oct. 28). If you have questions, call 210-335-0362.
Senate Bill 1 which was signed into law last year by Gov. Greg Abbott makes several changes to the election process in Texas, including some rules for voters hoping to cast their ballot by mail for the 2022 Texas midterms.
You can read about the changes to the application process here.
Click here to find out where to submit your application for ballot by mail in other Texas counties.
Where can I find election results?
We will have election results on KSAT.com and on KSAT 12.
You can also get election results from these websites: