Voting shouldn’t have to be this hard.

Voting shouldn’t have to be this hard.

Texas has a long and sordid history of voter suppression. The state’s recent battle over its draconian mail-in voting rules is another example.

To show just how hard it is to vote by mail, I’ve made this simple and easy-to-use, step-by-step guide.

  1. Go to the Texas Secretary of State votetexas.gov website

  2. Find the Application for a Ballot by Mail page

  3. Print an Application for Ballot by Mail form

  4. Verify you are over 65, disabled, out of your home county, or in jail (huh?)

  5. Complete Sections 1 through 8.

  6. Sign and date Section 10.

  7. Get a witness to sign if you need help.

  8. Get a stamp (it’s not prepaid postage, silly).

  9. Go online and find the mailing address of your county’s Early Voting Clerk (don’t mail it to the Texas Secretary of State, you numbskull, or it’ll be rejected because, why not?)

  10. Mail the application to your county’s early voting clerk so they RECEIVE it (not postmarked) at least 11 days (why 11?) before election day (because it’s easy to control when mail gets delivered, right?).

  11. Get your Ballot by Mail (cross your fingers!). 

  12. Fill out your ballot (this is the easy part).

  13. Get another stamp (because you should have to PAY to vote)

  14. Go online and find the mailing address of your county’s election official.

  15. Mail your ballot to your county elections official so they RECEIVE it by 7 p.m. on election day or by 5 p.m. the day after election day if it is postmarked by 7 p.m. on election day.

THAT’S IT! You’re all done! Wasn’t that easy?

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