Answering viewers' questions about absentee voting

TYLER, Texas — Absentee voting is more popular than ever before, and that means voters have more questions about it than ever before.

As of Sunday, nearly 22,000 mail-in ballots had already been counted in East Texas with thousands more waiting to be received. But as more people vote absentee, more of them have questions about how the process works. 

Here are three questions viewers recently asked CBS19:

How can I get an absentee ballot?

There are four criteria that can qualify a voter for an absentee ballot. Texas law says a voter must be 65 or older; have a physical condition that prevents them from voting in person; be an inmate who is still eligible to vote, or be out of the state during the period encompassing early voting and Election Day.

Voters still have a few days to request an absentee ballot if they have not yet done so. The application may be printed from the Secretary of State’s website and mailed in, or voters may call their county elections office to request one. However, the county has to receive the application by Friday, October 23, so time is running out.

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If I make a mistake on my absentee ballot, will the state toss out the whole thing?

That depends on the type of mistake. If a voter does not fill in a bubble the right way or leaves a race empty on accident, their vote might not be counted for that race, but the rest of the ballot will still count.

There are a handful of reasons why a ballot could be rejected entirely, including:

• If the voter's signature does not match the signature on their application.
• If they did not put the ballot in its return envelope or sign that.
• If the voter did not affix the proper postage to the return envelope.
• If the ballot is not dropped off or postmarked by November 3.

Can someone else drop off my absentee ballot for me?

If they are taking it to the one drop-off location in each county, the answer is “no.” The voter has to be there to show their identification. Someone else can take the voter's ballot to the post office, but the Secretary of State’s Office does not recommend that because the voter cannot be sure their ballot actually got delivered.

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With 15 days until Election Day, CBS19 has a team of experts to provide voters with all the information they need in order to vote. Text “2020” to the CBS19 Helpline (903-600-2600) and we will send our local voting guide straight to your phone.