The Executive Branch Must Act Within Its Authority

Previous Americans must awaken and "Stop the Madness"	What You need to know About Voting by Mail	Next Voting this Election Cycle will be Different
Published in The Galveston County Daily News September 23, 2022 With the November midterm election fast approaching, I'd like to help those who have received, or will be receiving, an absentee ballot. First: "Why did I get an absentee ballot?" It's because you requested it. In order to qualify for getting an absentee ballot you must be 65+ years old, disabled, or be out of the county during Early Voting and Election Day. Second: "Now that I've a ballot-by-mail, what do I do with it?" Reading the instructions is a good start. Then select the candidates you want to vote for, marking your selections. Please don't make any stray marks on the ballot because that may impact the ability to scan/count your vote. Third: place your marked ballot in the "security envelope" and seal it. This will ensure the privacy of your vote. Then place the secrecy envelope into the "carrier envelope" [the one with all the writing on it]. There's a place on the carrier envelope for you to put your Texas Driver's License (TDL)/Texas Identification number and the last 4 of your SSN. There's also a place for your phone number and email address. I highly recommend that you include all this information; here's why. If your signature on the carrier envelope doesn't look like the other signatures on file your vote might not be counted. However, if your TDL or SSN matches what is on file, even if the signature isn't similar, your vote will be accepted for counting. If you forget to sign the carrier envelope, or fail to include requested information, having your phone number/email address allows election officials to contact you and give you an opportunity to "fix" the issue. All of this is new and of real benefit to you. Next mail your absentee ballot to the Count Clerk's office, making sure to do so in plenty of time for it to arrive by Election Day [November 8th]. "What if I don't trust the U.S. Mail and want to vote in person?" Don't discard your absentee ballot. Simply bring it to any Early Voting or Election Day polling place, surrender it to the election judge who will then have you sign a document cancelling your request for an absentee ballot, and allow you to vote in person. If you don't bring your absentee ballot to the polls, you'll need to go home and get it or vote a provisional ballot. "What if I don't want to vote in person, but want to hand-deliver my ballot instead of mailing it?" The only way you can do this is to go to the County Clerk's office, show an acceptable form of photo ID, and surrender the ballot. Please note, you can only do this with your own ballot. You're not allowed to drop off someone else's ballot for them. You also may not take an absentee ballot to a polling place and ask the judge to have it counted as a ballot-by-mail. Doing either of these is illegal and your vote will not be counted. I hope this is helpful.
	About the Author 2022 Bill lives in Galveston, Texas and and served from 2011-2017 as the Chief Deputy Clerk for Elections in Galveston County.
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