Early Voting Information

Three (3) ways to vote early in Texas Elections:                                                                                       

1) Absentee Voting by Mail
Regular (Annual) Application for Ballot By Mail (ABBM)  (Español) (Fillable Form)

Your Rights when voting by mail (PDF)

Click here for more information on Assisting and Witnessing for a Mail Ballot Voter

You are eligible to vote early by mail if you are a registered voter who is:

• 65 years of age or older on election day (This application has the option of 1 election or an annual ballot for all elections within the year, depending on what you select on the application.)
• Disability, defined as a sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from voting in person without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or injury to the voter’s health (as defined in Texas Election Code 82.002a) (This application has the option of 1 election or an annual ballot for all elections within the year, depending on what you select on the application.) 
• Expects to be out of the county during the hours that voting is conducted during early voting in person and on election day (Must provide an out of county address and the beginning and the ending date of receiving mail at this address. (This application is only good for one election and runoff, if your dates of absence from the county include both elections and you make that selection on the application.)
• Expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day (This application is only good for one election and runoff if you make that selection on the application.) 
• Confined in Jail/Involuntary Civil Commitment under Chapter 841 of the Health and Safety Code, you must be legally eligible for Early Voting by Mail. At the time your early voting ballot application is submitted, you are either (1) confined in jail serving a misdemeanor sentence for a term that ends on or after Election Day; (2) pending trial after denial of bail; (3) without bail pending an appeal of a felony conviction; (4) pending trial or appeal on a bailable offense for which release on bail before Election Day is unlikely or (5) you are involuntarily civilly committed. (This application is only good for one election and runoff if you make that selection on the application.) 

Annual Application – Only voters who are 65 or older or who have a disability are eligible to apply for an Annual ballot by mail. An Annual ballot by mail will provide you with a ballot for all the elections in a calendar year for which you are eligible. Your Annual Application may be forwarded to other entities holding elections in which you are eligible to vote. This means that you may receive a ballot for those other elections in addition to the ballot you requested with this application. If you do not select any elections in Box 4 on the application, your application will be considered an Annual Application if your reason for voting by mail was 65 Years of Age or Older or Disability.

To vote by mail, you must first apply for a ballot. The Ellis County Elections office does not send out applications or ballots without a specific request from the voter themselves. The voter themself may call our office at 972-825-5195 to request an application be sent to them. We must receive your completed application no later than the close of business 11 days before election day for both regular and FPCA applications (per H.B. 1927 law effective 9/1/2015). If the deadline falls on a weekend, the last day to submit an application is the preceding Friday. If the deadline falls on a state or federal holiday, the ballot must be received on the preceding business day. The first day for the Election’s Office to receive an Annual Regular or FPCA Ballot by Mail Application for each calendar year is on January 1st of each year.

NOTE as of 6/12/2020: There have been court cases concerning COVID-19 and mail ballots. The latest information is listed at this Press Release on June 12, 2020 from Ken Paxon, Attorney General of Texas.  https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/ag-paxton-warns-county-officials-avoid-misleading-public-vote-mail-laws

College Student Information for voting by mail:    

If you’re attending a college or university away from home, you can vote early by mail if you claimed as your primary residence the address where you live while not attending school – in other words, where a parent or guardian lives. Remember you can register to vote in either your home state or where you attend college, but you cannot be registered in both locations. To receive an Absentee ballot by choosing expected absence from the county, you must expect to be absent from the county on election day and during the hours of early voting in person or for the remainder of the early voting period after you submit your application. You will receive a ballot for the upcoming election only and any resulting runoff. Your ballot must be mailed to an address outside the county. Important: You must also give the date you can begin to receive mail at the address given (#8 on the form).

To request that an early voting ballot be sent to the address where you are physically planning to be at during election time (e.g.,at school), you must fill out a Regular Application for Ballot By Mail (ABBM)  Return the form by the below procedures.

If you are studying abroad (overseas), please see section #2 below to fill out an FPCA application.

Ways to return your application: 
Mail your application for a ballot to: OR If you choose to use a contract carrier, applications can be delivered to:

Early Voting Clerk
Ellis County Elections
204 E. Jefferson Street
Waxahachie, Texas 75165-3752

Deliver in person your application for a ballot to: Only the applicant may submit their application in person to the Early Voting Clerk at the above address. However, the applicant may wish to submit their application via mail, fax, common contract carrier, or email.

Fax and then mail your application for a ballot to: Fax: (972) 923-5194 Voter must still submit the Original application BY MAIL and the Elections Office must receive no later than the 4th business day after receiving the fax. Per Senate Bill 5 effective December 1, 2017. 

Email and then mail your application for a ballot to: Email elections@co.ellis.tx.us  Must be a scanned application that contains the voter’s original signature. Voter must still submit the Original application BY MAIL and the Elections Office must receive no later than the 4th business day after receiving the email. Per Senate Bill 5 effective December 1, 2017. 

Information about Returning your Carrier Envelope (PDF)

Click the image below to track your mail ballot or correct your application online.

2) Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) for Military / Overseas Citizens to Vote by Mail

FPCA Application for ballot by mail or email (fillable form)

FPCA Information and materials (FVAP.gov website)

Military and Overseas Voters additional information (votetexas.gov website)

Who can use the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA) and why?

• Active duty military, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)
• U.S. Citizens (nonmilitary) temporarily overseas* away from the home Texas county
• U.S. Citizens (nonmilitary) permanently overseas* away from the (previous) home Texas county
• Members of the merchant marine, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)
• Members of the Texas National Guard, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)
• Members of a National Guard of another state, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)
• Members of the military reserves on active duty, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)

* Federal law defines “overseas” as anywhere outside the United States. If you are not one of these voters, you need the regular early voting by mail application in step #1 above.

Mail your application for a ballot to: OR If you choose to use a contract carrier, applications can be delivered to:

Early Voting Clerk
Ellis County Elections
204 E. Jefferson Street
Waxahachie, Texas 75165-3752

Fax and mail your application for a ballot to: Fax: (972) 923-5194  Voter must still submit the original FPCA application BY MAIL and the Elections Office must receive no later than the 4th business day after receiving the fax. (Per Senate Bill 5 effective December 1, 2017.)

Email your application for a ballot to: Email elections@co.ellis.tx.us  Must be a scanned application that contains the voter’s original signature. (Per Senate Bill 5 effective December 1, 2017 does not require an original FPCA to be mail when it is emailed.)

Information about Returning your FPCA Ballot Envelope (PDF)

Click the image below to track your mail ballot or correct your application online.

How do you return the ballot to the Early Voting Clerk?

• Hard copy by mail, or common or contract courier (like any other ballot by mail)
• IF from military voter (or spouse or dependent) in hostile fire pay / imminent danger pay / combat zone, may be faxed using authorized channels.

When is the deadline for returning the ballot?

• Regular deadline: receipt by 7:00 p.m. Election Day
• Deadline for voters voting from overseas location: receipt by 5th day after Election Day
• Deadline for the ballot to be received is the 6th day after Election Day for:
  • Members of the armed forces of the United States, or the spouse or a dependent of a member of the armed forces;
  • Members of the merchant marines of the United States, or the spouse or a dependent of a member of the merchant marine;
  • Members of the Texas National Guard, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the Texas National Guard;
  • Members of the National Guard of another state, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the National Guard of another state;
  • Members of the military reserves on active duty, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the military reserves on active duty.

3) Early Voting In-Person at the Polling Location
Texas law permits anyone who is registered to vote the option of voting early in person for any reason. The Elections Department establishes and staffs early voting locations throughout Ellis County. Early voting begins either 17 or 12 days prior to a scheduled election (depending on the type of election).

Early Voting Vote Center Locations are listing on our upcoming elections page for each individual election. Click here.  

Curbside Voting:  

Notice of Voting Order Priority Pursuant to Section 63.0013, Election Code: An election officer may give voting order priority to individuals with a mobility problem that substantially impairs the person’s ability to move around. 

Notice of No Electioneering or Loitering within 100 feet outside any entrance to the polling location while the polls are open

Notice of No Electronic devices within 100 feet of the voting stations

Required Identification for Voting in Person (Identificación Requerida Para Votar en Persona)

Your Rights as a Voter

More information on "How to Vote at the Polls" with the ES&S ExpressVote Marking Device and the DS200 Tabulator :

• Click here for Video Demonstration of the New Voting System (Youtube Video) 
• Instructions on casting an ExpressVote Ballot

Upcoming Elections in Ellis County

For more information on ballot by mail and FPCA’s, call us at 972-825-5195 or email us at elections@co.ellis.tx.us or come see us at 204 E Jefferson Street, Waxahachie, Tx 75165.