The deadline for your county elections office to receive ballot-by-mail applications is Oct. 23. h O== B,-gEU><>vs\1GHn~1 "I like football, baseball, American pie, but voting is what makes America, America.". 1 Dana DeBeauvoir,Travis County Clerk\rElections Division\rPO Box 149325\rAustin, TX 78714-9325. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. d>H3[YM^gu1+OUN.fr|q/2/`gPT"qz5,LOt1QN-U_qutRL?Vtue#\f~B@]Mfrf&qMz"Gz=$Ur$=eEWRV-)U9@!Bz"jjQ|,>\?^/!Z3PKzJsRe9,a!FCg4P.0OG7d=?VAHS*rHFEU|ubG9d.= *Ynw9'*kvIdrrqY _6.&CfdV.C72{IZ96q~ (,jr [Oe Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Starting early Tuesday, KXAN viewers began emailing their stories of standing in lines for over two hours at some polling sites. Harris County officials told NBC News that more than 4,500 people voted in the first 30 minutes after polls opened. "While Republicans will do whatever it takes to hold onto power, even if it means suppressing the votes of the rising Texas electorate, Texas Democrats are fighting for every eligible voter to have their voices heard. Harris County, home of Houston, the nation's fourth most populous city, has 12 drop-off locations to address the high demand for mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Voters can only drop off the mail-in ballots in their own carrier envelope, the office said. Texas Democrats and voting rights groups have criticized the order, saying it infringes upon voter rights. A Division of NBCUniversal. A federal court of appeals upheld Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's order to remove mail ballot drop-off sites across Texas. AUSTIN (KXAN) Jay Jones of south Austin had something to prove to his two daughters.Even after waiting more than three hours on the first day of early voting, Jones would make his voice heard. "These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting.". A federal court of appeals has upheld Republican Gov. 2020 CNBC LLC. Got a confidential news tip? Y>^Db5R;g2*u.e14sUJP5)HSu`oxx?.i K $V?_-Qp))VU& 7_%ROS` ~F8_%W*/jhU}/W@|WRpU Prescribed by the Office of the Secretary of State of Texas A5-15 12/17 . Tuesday marks the first day of early voting in Texas. In a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Austin, the plaintiffs said "forcing such new burdens on voters who relied on a different set of election rules to make their voting plan, is unreasonable, unfair, and unconstitutional.". Llano County Elections Administrator Cindy Ware confirmed to KXAN that party affiliations are not showing up on screen during the voting process, but appear after the ballot is printed out. A worker puts a ballot into a lock box at a drive-thru mail ballot hand delivery center in Austin, Texas, U.S., on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. Hughes immediately appealed the ruling and the Fifth Circuit granted a temporary stay on Saturday. \N=6,GaSyXWSB9Xe1KO#b(v`#b( y,v. Travis County, home of the state capital, Austin, has four sites. Travis County election officials say they expect to receive 100,000 ballots by mail for the 2020 general election about four times the usual number for an election like this. The governor'sorder, which also permits poll watchers to observe ballot delivery, amends a July 27 proclamation that extended early voting and allowed voters to deliver mail ballots in person. "We can overcome," Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in response to the court's ruling. A: The Travis County clerk's website has specific instructions for how to request a mail ballot in a letter. ", Earlier this month, Texas voting rights organizations and private citizens sued Republican Gov. Application for Ballot by Mail. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit late Monday sided with Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughes, who argued that the governor's move to restrict the in-person delivery of early voting ballots to a single location per county protected election integrity. For a mail-in ballot to count, it must either be mailed back in time or hand delivered to one of the designated locations set up by the Travis County Clerks Office. For a mail-in ballot to count, it must either be mailed back in time or hand delivered to one of the designated locations set up by the Travis County Clerks Office.