How to vote in the US midterm: The early voting will kick start in Texas beginning Monday and Houston-area voters will have to check their registration and take prompt action if something goes wrong. Early voting starts Monday and ends Oct. 30. Just days ahead of the election, Texas election officials have identified a new backlog of 15,000 unprocessed voter registration records and it has raised fresh concerns with a new software error affecting around thousands of registration records just days before voting begins. The development comes news of more than 500,000 delayed registrations that hit county elections offices last month. The secretary of state’s office said in an email to county election officials on Thursday that some of them would receive new batches of registrations to process, though many of them would not.
The Texas Association of County Elected Officials later said it was aware of 3,000 new registrations sent to Bexar County, 2,400 to Harris, 1,100 to Travis, 700 to Williamson and 400 to Hays, according to Express News. Voters who are unsure whether their registration details have been processed can check their status online or contact their county voter registrar before heading to a polling place.
How can Texans check if they are registered to vote?
They can use the official VoteTexas registration lookup to check their status using one of three options:
- Their Voter Unique Identifier (VUID), found on their voter registration certificate.
- Their Texas driver's license number, if it was provided when registering.
- Their first and last names.
Voters can also contact the voter registrar's office in their county if their information does not appear or seems incorrect.
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What should you do if your name is missing from the voter list?
The deadline to register and be eligible to vote in the November 3, 2026 Election is October 5, 2026. This can be either the postmark date or the date the application is received in the office of the voter registrar. Voters may, of course, register at any time before that date to ensure that your registration is effective for voting in November.
Getty ImagesTexas voters can cast their ballots before Election Day in the 2026 midterm elections, with early voting set from Oct. 19 through Oct. 30. The election will include races for governor, a U.S. Senate seats, many U.S. House seats, local offices and initiatives in North Texas.(Photo by Adam J. Dewey/Anadolu via Getty Images)
You can obtain a voter registration application from your voter registrar's office, libraries, most post offices, and high schools. You can also fill out a voter registration application online. or request a postage-paid application be mailed to you. Note: If you fill out a voter registration application online using the above link, you must print the completed application and send it to your county voter registrar’s office. You can check your registration at VoteTexas.gov.
When does early voting start in Texas?
- Early voting: October 19–30, 2026.
- Election Day: November 3, 2026.
- Where to check: VoteTexas.gov and the relevant county election office.
During early voting, registered voters can use any designated early voting location in the county where they are registered. You may not cross county lines to cast a regular ballot elsewhere.
Documents Texans need for voting
Texas voters must show one of seven forms of photo identification at a polling place:
Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety
Texas election identification certificate issued by DPS
Texas personal Identification card issued by DPS
Texas handgun license issued by DPS
U.S. military identification card
U.S. citizenship certificate
U.S. passport
What are election officials saying?
Michele Carew, Bexar County's elections administrator, said her staff was working “around the clock” to process the records received Thursday night, alongside mailed-in voter registration forms and mail ballots.
She said the Elections Department expected to process about 10,000 voter registrations and several thousand ballot-by-mail submissions by Monday.
“Our highest priority is the security, integrity and accuracy of every step of the voter application process,” she said. “Our team is dedicated to ensuring every ballot and every vote that is cast counted.”