October 11th, the last day to register to vote in the 2022 Texas elections, is fastly approaching and everywhere I go I see flyers reminding me to vote and volunteers ready to help register as many people as possible. It’s easy to put off your registration when you’re not quite sure what’s going to be on the ballot and when and how you can vote. Here’s what you need to know!
Important Dates
October 11, 2022, is the last day to register to vote and to submit an address change. If you’ve moved since the last time you voted (especially if you’ve moved to a new political subdivision) or you’ve legally taken a different name, now is the time to register! You can do this online here.
As a student, you can register to vote in the county you attend university in using your university residence address or in your home county using your permanent home address.
If you want to check if you’re registered to vote you can check here. You’ll need your first and last names, date of birth, and county you reside in OR your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth to log in.
October 28, 2022, is the last day to apply to vote by mail. This is the day they must be received by the early voting clerk – not postmarked. These applications can be emailed, faxed, or dropped off in person but the office must receive a hard copy within four business days if you use a digital submission option.
You can download the application here.
October 24 – November 4, 2022, are this year’s early voting dates. Anyone who is registered to vote may vote early in person unless they qualify to vote by mail.
November 8, 2022, is election day. Polls are open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM for all in-person voters. This is also the deadline for mail-in ballots to be returned to the county. If a ballot is postmarked by 7:00 PM locally on November 8th and received by the county by 5:00 PM on November 9th, it will be counted.
Please be sure to check your polling locations here.
What’s on the ballot?
On November 8, 2022, eligible Texans will be able to cast their vote for state leaders, district-based representatives, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner, members of the railroad commission, U.S. representatives, state senators, state representatives, Texas Supreme Court justices, and members of the State Board of Education.
Since a lot of these elections are based on the address associated with your voter registration, let’s look at the seven statewide seats up for election this year.
Governor – The Chief Executive of Texas
Greg Abbot (R) is the incumbent seeking his third term and will face Beto O’Rourke (D) who has run for U.S. Senate (2018) and President (2020).
Attorney General – The top lawyer in Texas, representing the state in civil litigation
Ken Paxton (R) is the incumbent seeking his third term and will face Rochelle Garza (D) a civil rights attorney from Brownsville.
Lieutenant Governor – The second-highest executive in the state, presides over the Texas Senate
Dan Patrick (R) is the incumbent seeking his third term and will face Mike Collier (D) who challenged him back in 2018 for the same seat.
Agriculture Commissioner – Overseer of the agriculture industry in the state
Sid Miller (R) is the incumbent seeking his third term and will face Susan Hays (D) who co-founded Jane’s Due Process a legal services non-profit for pregnant minors.
Land Commissioner – Overseer of state land and the administration of disaster recovery funds
Since the incumbent George P. Bush (R) campaigned for the party’s nomination in the 2022 Texas Attorney General election and lost, the race is wide open. Dawn Buckingham (R) the first woman elected to the Texas State Senate will face Jay Kleberg (D) former Associate Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Comptroller – Overseer of the state treasury
Glenn Hegar (R) is the incumbent seeking his third term and will face Janet T. Dudding (D) who has served as a Democratic Precinct Chair and a Member of the Texas Democratic Women Executive Board.
Railroad Commissioner – Regulator of the oil and gas industry
Wayne Christian (R) is the incumbent seeking his second term and will face Luke Warford (D) who started his career as an organizer on the 2012 Obama campaign, but has spent most of his career in the private sector.
Take your time to go through every candidate’s website (hyperlinked above) and decide what bubbles you’ll be filling in this election season!