Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – Mandates that all facilities must be equally accessible to persons with disabilities. A polling place may never be “grandfathered” for ADA compliance.
Assistance – A voter who is physically unable to mark the ballot or unable to read the ballot is eligible to receive assistance.
Ballot Box No. 1 – For collecting voted ballots at the precinct on Election Day; it is rotated with Ballot Box No. 2. Section 65.003, Texas Election Code
Ballot Box No. 2 – For collecting voted ballots at the precinct on Election Day; it is rotated with Ballot Box No. 1. Section 65.003, Texas Election Code
Ballot Box No. 3 – For holding counted and uncounted ballots emptied from Ballot Boxes No. 1 & 2 throughout Election Day. Section 65.012, Texas Election Code
Ballot Box No. 4 –Is used for delivering defectively printed, spoiled, surrendered ballots by mail for cancellation or unused ballots, and, in paper ballot elections, the ballots sealed in the Provisional Voter Affidavit Envelope.
Ballot Style – The unique combination of races that make up the ballot for which the voter is eligible. The ballot style is based on the voter’s registered address.
Bedsheet Ballot – A form of sample ballot used at a countywide polling place. The bedsheet ballot contains all the races from all the elections that are being held in the county.
Certificate of Appointment of a Poll Watcher – Is a written document poll watchers present to the presiding election judge to gain admission to the polling place. The certificate must include the following:
• Name, residence address, and voter registration number of the poll watcher;
• The election and the number of the precinct where the poll watcher is to serve;
• The signature of the person(s) making the appointment;
• The signature of the poll watcher;
• An indication of the capacity in which the appointing authority is acting;
• In an election on a measure, an identification of the measure (if more than one is to be voted on) and a statement of which side the appointee represents; and
• An affidavit executed by the poll watcher that the poll watcher will not have possession of any mechanical or electronic means of recording images or sound while serving as a watcher or that the appointee will disable or deactivate the device.
• An Oath of Poll Watcher that the poll watcher must say aloud before beginning service.
• The Training Requirement that states that the poll watcher must present a physical copy of the Certificate of Completion of the Secretary of State’s Online Poll Watcher training course.
Certificate of Completion of Poll Watcher Training – A certificate of achievement that a poll watcher receives after completion of the Secretary of State’s Online Poll Watcher training.
Certificate of Voter Registration – is issued by the county voter registrar to a voter after approval of the voter’s registration application. It contains the voter’s county election precinct number and registration (or VUID) number. The initial certificate takes effect on the effective date of the registration and expires the following January 1 of an even-numbered year.
Clerk – Also called Election Clerk, is appointed by the presiding election judge of the polling place to work at the election polls on Election Day. To be eligible to serve as a clerk of an election precinct, a person must be a qualified voter.
Combination Form – A form that combines the poll list, signature roster and affidavits. This form is used in connection with the acceptance of voters at Election Day polling places and at early voting locations.
Countywide Polling Place Program – The program that allows voters in a participating county to vote at any location on Election Day just as they may during early voting. This program is also known at the “Vote Center” program.
County Election Precinct – The basic unit of county elections; a geographical unit of the county in which you live that determines in what jurisdictions you live. Each county election precinct (unless combined or consolidated) contains a polling place.
Direct Recording Electronic Voting System (DRE) – The voter votes directly on the machine without a physical ballot.
Distance Marker – Signs placed 100 feet from each entrance to the polling place where a voter may enter the building where the polling place is located. There is no electioneering or loitering within these boundaries.
Early Voting Clerk – Person specified by law or appointed by the governing body who conducts early voting in each election. Deputy early voting clerks may be appointed as provided by law and are in charge of Early Voting polling places.
Early Voting Rosters – Indicates those voters who voted early by personal appearance and those who voted early by mail.
“Early Voted” or “Voted” notation – On the Election Day List of Registered Voters – indicates that the voter voted early, either by mail, or in person during the early voting period.
Election Judge – Also called a presiding election judge. To be eligible to be the presiding judge of an election precinct, a person must be a qualified voter of the election precinct; however, if an eligible qualified voter of the precinct who is willing to accept the appointment of presiding judge or alternate judge cannot be found, it is sufficient if the presiding judge or alternate judge is a qualified voter of the county.
Election Kit – Container of election forms, name tags, stamps, envelopes, seals, locks, ballots, official list of registered voters, and signage poll workers will use at the polling place. The kit may include: “Provisional” and “Voted” stamps & ink pad; Affidavit of Provisional Voter Envelopes; Certificates of Party Affiliation (primary election); Combination Form; Corrections Registration List; Envelope No. 5 (primary election); Lists of: Voters with ID Notation, Provisional Voters, Registered Voters; Notices to Provisional Voter (regular and ID deficiencies); Official Ballots; Party Affiliation stamps (primary election); Poll List; Provisional Ballots; Register of Spoiled Ballots; Register of Surrendered Ballots by Mail; Registration Omissions List; Request to Cancel a Ballot by Mail for Use in the Polling Place; Signature Roster; Supplemental Registration List; Secrecy Envelopes (white, for provisional ballots); Envelopes No. 1 – 4; Distance Markers; Voter Information (poster); Notice of Voter Complaint Information (poster); Notice of Voting Order Priority; Oath of Assistance and Interpreter; Notice of Prohibition of Certain Devices Within 100 Feet of a Voting Station; Name Tags; Notice of Total Number of Voters Who Have Voted; Envelope for Requests and Canceled Ballots; Envelope for Spoiled Ballots; Tally List (if hand-counting will be done); Statement of Compensation and Oaths; Register of Official Ballots; Ballot and Seal Certificate; Returns Sheet (if hand-counting will be done); Instructions for Casting An Optical Scan Ballot (if optical scan ballots are used); Wire Seals; Statement of Residence.
Oath of Election Worker – Administered by the Election Judge to all election workers on Election Day, before the polls open. Shift workers take the oath when they arrive at the polls — “I swear (or affirm) that I will not in any manner request or seek to persuade or induce any voter to vote for or against any candidate or measure to be voted on, and that I will faithfully perform my duty as an officer of the election and guard the purity of the election.”
Electioneering – The act of promoting a particular candidate or issue in order to influence voters.
Elections Administrator – Referred to as a county elections administrator. ; The Commissioners Court, by written order, may create the position of county elections administrator for a county. The duties of the county elections administrator include duties and functions of the voter registrar and duties and functions of the county clerk relating to elections.
Envelope # 1 to 4 – Used to distribute election records from the election precinct polling place after the polls close on Election Day. Contents of each envelope and who receives them varies (for details see Sections 66.022-66.0241 of the Texas Election Code).
Federal Election – An election in which an officer of the federal government is on the ballot. This includes the general election for state and county officers, party primary elections, and any special election to fill a vacancy in the U.S. House of Representatives or U.S. Senate.
General Election – An election, other than a primary election or special election, that regularly recurs at fixed dates.
General Election for State and County Officers (GESCO) – The election at which officers of the federal, state, and county governments are regularly elected. The GESCO is held in November in even-numbered years.
Gubernatorial General Election – The gubernatorial general election is held every four years to elect a governor for a full term.
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) – A federal law signed into law in 2002 that required a number of changes to the way elections are conducted when a federal office is on the ballot. Among other things, it required and provided funding for the placement of new voting systems in each polling place that are accessible to voters with disabilities. It created a new provisional ballot procedure, that replaced the challenge voting process, for voters whose eligibility to vote is in question.
Identification (ID) – Voters who possess one of seven (7) acceptable forms of photo identification, commonly referred to as List A, must present one of those forms at the polls. The 7 Acceptable Forms of ID are: 1) A Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS); 2) A Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS; 3) A Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS; 4) A Texas Handgun License issued by DPS; 5) A United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph; 6) A United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph; or 7) A United States Passport (book or card). If a voter does not possess one of the forms of acceptable photo identification in List A, and the voter cannot reasonably obtain such identification, the voter may execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and present a copy or original of one of the following supporting forms of identification: a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate; current utility bill; bank statement; government check; paycheck; or (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document). Voters with an “E” notation on their Voter Registration Certificates may present it and do not have to present an acceptable form of photo ID or follow the Reasonable Impediment Declaration procedure.
List of Provisional Voters for Early Voting – The Early Voting Clerk or the deputy of the Early Voting Clerk must enter the name of a voter who votes provisionally during early voting on this form. The List of Provisional Voters for Early Voting accompanies the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes from early voting when they are submitted to the voter registrar, and the voter registrar signs the List to verify receipt of the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes.
List of Provisional Voters on Election Day – The Election Judge or Election Clerk must enter the name of a voter who votes provisionally on Election Day on this form. The List of Provisional Voters accompanies the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes when the Election Judge delivers, as applicable, Ballot Boxes 1-4, the election records (Envelopes 1-4), and voting equipment and/or electronic media from such equipment on election night from the election precinct to the General Custodian of Election Records. The List of Provisional Voters is placed in Envelope No. 2, which goes to the General Custodian of Election Records on election night. The General Custodian removes the List and delivers the List along with the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes to the voter registrar.
List of Registered Voters – An alphabetical list of all persons registered to vote in a county election precinct. The Election Clerk matches the information on the List to a person’s identification and resolves any discrepancies to qualify a person to vote on Election Day.
National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) – Federal law that requires voter registration at DPS, agencies providing public assistance, and agencies offering services to the disabled. NVRA also requires the Secretary of State to provide regular updates to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) detailing the sources of voter registration.
Notice to Provisional Voter – The Election Judge gives this form to voters casting a provisional ballot. The form explains that the voter will receive notice in the mail informing the voter about whether the provisional ballot was counted.
Notice to Provisional Voter (ID) – The Election Judge gives this form to voters who cast a Provisional Ballot when the voter failed to present: 1) An acceptable form of photo identification; 2) Present a supporting form of identification and execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration; or 3) A Voter Registration with an “E” notation on it, noting that the voter is exempt from the photo identification requirement. This form has information about how voters can cure an ID deficiency, a map to the voter registrar’s office and the deadline by which the deficiency must be cured.
Notice of Voting Order Priority – A Notice that informs voters with certain disabilities that they are allowed to receive priority voting. An election officer shall accept a person with a mobility problem that substantially impairs a person’s ability to ambulate who is offering to vote before accepting others offering to vote at the polling place who arrived before the person. The person’s assistant is also allowed to receive voting order priority.
Oath of Assistance – Is administered by the Election Judge and taken by people who assist voters, at the voter’s request, who need help reading or marking the ballot. An individual selected by the voter to provide assistance must to take the oath each time he or she assists a voter. “I swear (or affirm) under penalty of perjury that the voter I am assisting represented to me they are eligible to receive assistance; I will not suggest, by word, sign, or gesture, how the voter should vote; I will prepare the voter’s ballot as the voter directs; I did not pressure or coerce the voter into choosing me to provide assistance; I am not the voter’s employer, an agent of the voter’s employer, or an officer or agent of a labor union to which the voter belongs; I will not communicate information about how the voter has voted to another person; and I understand that if assistance is provided to a voter who is not eligible for assistance, the voter’s ballot may not be counted.”
Oath of Interpreter – Is on the backside of the Oath of Assistance. It is administered by the Election Judge to persons who translate spoken and written English instructions, and the ballot, to a voter who does not speak or read English, into the language the voter speaks. The interpreter may be an election officer or someone designated by the voter. “I swear or affirm that, to the best of my ability, I will correctly interpret and translate each question, answer, or statement addressed either to the voter by any election officer or to an election officer by the voter.”
Official Ballot – Is a paper ballot that has been signed or stamped by the Election Judge at the election precinct. In precincts using DRE machines, official ballots are electronic and stored in the voting equipment.
Optical Scan Voting System – A voting system under which paper ballots are counted by an infrared or light sensitive reader. The device may be located either at the polling place or a central counting station.
Paper Ballot that are Hand-Counted – Ballots counted by hand by election officials at the polling place. The ballots must be continuously counted after the polls close until the precinct returns are completed.
Peace Officer – A person designated by the authority conducting the election to enforce no loitering and no electioneering within the boundaries of the Distance Markers. A person is eligible for appointment as a special peace officer for the polling place only if the person is licensed as a peace officer by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.
Political Subdivision – A county, city, school district or any other governmental entity embracing a geographic area with a defined boundary, that exists for the purpose of discharging functions of government, and possesses authority for subordinate self-government through officers selected by it.
Poll Watcher – A person appointed by an eligible appointing authority or entity that may be present in the early voting location, election day polling place, central counting station, or meeting place of an early voting ballot board to observe all conduct of election workers. Up to 2 poll watchers per election day polling place can be appointed by a candidate on the ballot, a campaign treasurer of a specific-purpose political action committee in an election on a proposition or measure, or a political party in a partisan election.
Poll Workers – Also called Election Judge or Clerks; the election workers in the polling place responsible for administering the election.
Polling Place – Site where voting takes place in an election precinct.
Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelope – An envelope where a provisional voter places his or her voted ballot after placing it in the secrecy envelope. It is transmitted with the election records to the authority conducting the election where it will be examined and, possibly, counted if the qualifying issue can be resolved or the ID deficiency can be cured.
Provisional Voting – HAVA created a new voting process called “provisional voting” which took the place of the challenge voting process. The provisional ballots are kept separately from the regular ballots, and the voter’s circumstances will be reviewed later by the early voting ballot board after the voter registrar has researched the voter’s registration records. Provisional voters will receive a notice in the mail informing them whether their provisional ballots were counted, and if they were not counted, the reason why.
Qualifying Table – The first table that the voter approaches in the polling place. The election officials located at this table ensure that the voter presents an acceptable form of ID and is qualified to vote before receiving a ballot.
Register of Spoiled Ballots – List of ballot numbers that are misprinted, defective, or spoiled by voters on Election Day at the election precinct polling place. When a voter spoils a ballot it is necessary to collect the voter’s name and the serial number of the spoiled ballot on the Register. It is filed with the other election records at the end of Election Day.
Register of Surrendered Ballots by Mail – When a voter surrenders a ballot by mail at the polling place in order to cancel it and vote in person, information about the voter and the ballot must be recorded on this form.
Registered Voter – Means a person registered to vote in this state whose registration is effective.
Registration Omissions List –Also called Omissions List. Will be provided by the authority conducting the election to the precinct Election Judge who must add the names of voters who were left off the precinct list of registered voters or off the list of countywide registered voters. The additions will include name changes, address updates, etc.
“S” notation on List of Registered Voters – Stands for “Suspense List.” The voter has probably moved and must complete a Statement of Residence before being allowed to vote.
Sample Ballot – A poster or flyer with all the offices and candidates presented just as they are on the official ballot. Copies are posted around the polling place so voters waiting to vote can see them. A voter may take a copy of a sample ballot, as well as other written materials to assist him or her, into the voting station. The voter must take such materials out of the voting station. If the voter does not, an election officer must remove from the sight of other voters any such written materials found in the voting station.
Secrecy Envelope – The voter places his or her voted provisional ballot in this envelope and seals it and places it in the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelope and seals that envelope.
Secretary of State (SOS) – The Secretary of State is the chief election officer of the State of Texas. The SOS shall establish in the SOS’s office an Elections Division with an adequate staff to enable the SOS to perform the SOS’s duties as chief election officer.
State Election Inspector – Persons appointed by the Secretary of State to visit election precinct polling places on Election Day to observe activities performed by Election Judge and Clerks. They may also visit county election offices, warehouses, central counting stations, early voting ballots boards and signature verification committees.
Statement of Residence – A form filled out by an individual on Election Day who has an “S” notation on the Official List of Registered Voters or verbally says he or she has moved from the address listed on the Official List of Registered Voters when asked.
U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) – Federal agency charged with carrying out HAVA mandates for federal elections. For more information visit: www.eac.gov
U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) – Existent federal agency to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). For more information see www.fec.gov
Voting Station – Means the voting booth or other place where voters mark their ballots or otherwise indicate their votes at an early voting location or election day polling place. The voting station must offer privacy to the voter while marking his or her ballot.
“Voted Early” or “Voted” notation on the Election Day Official List of Registered Voters – Indicates that the voter voted early, either by mail, or in person during the early voting period.
Voter Unique ID Number (VUID) – A 10-digit number assigned to each registered voter on the statewide voter registration database. This number will be the voter’s permanent number as long as he or she lives in the state of Texas.