Sections
Chapter 81 General Provisions 81.001 – 81.005
Chapter 82 Eligibility for Early Voting 82.001 – 82.008
Chapter 83 Officer Conducting Early Voting 83.001 – 83.053
Chapter 84 Application for Ballot 84.001 – 84.038
Chapter 85 Conduct of Voting by Personal Appearance 85.001 – 85.072
Chapter 86 Conduct of Voting by Mail 86.001 – 86.015
Chapter 87 Processing Early Voting Results 87.001 – 87.128

Terms Used In Texas Election Code > Title 7 > Subtitle A - Early Voting

  • Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Affidavit: means a statement in writing of a fact or facts signed by the party making it, sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, and officially certified to by the officer under his seal of office. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Agency: includes authority, board, bureau, commission, committee, council, department, district, division, and office. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Alcoholic beverage: has the meaning assigned by § 1. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Association: means a government or governmental subdivision or agency, trust, partnership, or two or more persons having a joint or common economic interest. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • Bailiff: a court officer who enforces the rules of behavior in courtrooms.
  • Benefit: means anything reasonably regarded as economic gain or advantage, including benefit to any other person in whose welfare the beneficiary is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Bodily injury: means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Child: includes an adopted child, regardless of whether the adoption occurred through:
    (1) an existing or former statutory procedure; or
    (2) an equitable adoption or acts of estoppel. See Texas Estates Code 22.004
  • Civil commitment facility: means a facility owned, leased, or operated by the state, or by a vendor under contract with the state, that houses only persons who have been civilly committed as sexually violent predators under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Claims: includes :
    (1) liabilities of a decedent that survive the decedent's death, including taxes, regardless of whether the liabilities arise in contract or tort or otherwise;
    (2) funeral expenses;
    (3) the expense of a tombstone;
    (4) expenses of administration;
    (5) estate and inheritance taxes; and
    (6) debts due such estates. See Texas Estates Code 22.005
  • Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
  • Coercion: means a threat, however communicated:
    (A) to commit an offense;
    (B) to inflict bodily injury in the future on the person threatened or another;
    (C) to accuse a person of any offense;
    (D) to expose a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule;
    (E) to harm the credit or business repute of any person; or
    (F) to take or withhold action as a public servant, or to cause a public servant to take or withhold action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Consent: means assent in fact, whether express or apparent. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Controlled substance: has the meaning assigned by § 481. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Correctional facility: means a place designated by law for the confinement of a person arrested for, charged with, or convicted of a criminal offense. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • County election precinct: means an election precinct established under § 42. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Court: means and includes:
    (1) a county court in the exercise of its probate jurisdiction;
    (2) a court created by statute and authorized to exercise original probate jurisdiction; and
    (3) a district court exercising original probate jurisdiction in a contested matter. See Texas Estates Code 22.007
  • Court reporter: A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court and produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.
  • Deadly weapon: means :
    (A) a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury; or
    (B) anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Death: includes , for an individual who is an unborn child, the failure to be born alive. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Department: means the Department of Agriculture. See Texas Agriculture Code 1.003
  • Devisee: includes a legatee. See Texas Estates Code 22.009
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Distributee: means a person who is entitled to a part of the estate of a decedent under a lawful will or the statutes of descent and distribution. See Texas Estates Code 22.010
  • District office: means an office of the federal or state government that is not voted on statewide. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Donee: The recipient of a gift.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Drug: has the meaning assigned by § 481. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Effective consent: includes consent by a person legally authorized to act for the owner. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Effects: includes all personal property and all interest in that property. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Election official: means :
    (A) a county clerk;
    (B) a permanent or temporary deputy county clerk;
    (C) an elections administrator;
    (D) a permanent or temporary employee of an elections administrator;
    (E) an election judge;
    (F) an alternate election judge;
    (G) an early voting clerk;
    (H) a deputy early voting clerk;
    (I) an election clerk;
    (J) the presiding judge of an early voting ballot board;
    (K) the alternate presiding judge of an early voting ballot board;
    (L) a member of an early voting ballot board;
    (M) the chair of a signature verification committee;
    (N) the vice chair of a signature verification committee;
    (O) a member of a signature verification committee;
    (P) the presiding judge of a central counting station;
    (Q) the alternate presiding judge of a central counting station;
    (R) a central counting station manager;
    (S) a central counting station clerk;
    (T) a tabulation supervisor;
    (U) an assistant to a tabulation supervisor; and
    (V) a chair of a county political party holding a primary election or a runoff primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Estate: means a decedent's property, as that property:
    (1) exists originally and as the property changes in form by sale, reinvestment, or otherwise;
    (2) is augmented by any accretions and other additions to the property, including any property to be distributed to the decedent's representative by the trustee of a trust that terminates on the decedent's death, and substitutions for the property; and
    (3) is diminished by any decreases in or distributions from the property. See Texas Estates Code 22.012
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Exempt property: means the property in a decedent's estate that is exempt from execution or forced sale by the constitution or laws of this state, and any allowance paid instead of that property. See Texas Estates Code 22.013
  • Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
  • Federal special investigator: means a person described by Article Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Final canvass: means the canvass from which the official result of an election is determined. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • General election: means an election, other than a primary election, that regularly recurs at fixed dates. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • General election for state and county officers: means the general election at which officers of the federal, state, and county governments are elected. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Government: means :
    (A) the state;
    (B) a county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state; or
    (C) any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Gubernatorial general election: means the general election held every four years to elect a governor for a full term. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage, or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • Heir: means a person who is entitled under the statutes of descent and distribution to a part of the estate of a decedent who dies intestate. See Texas Estates Code 22.015
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Independent executor: means the personal representative of an estate under independent administration as provided by Chapter 401 and § 402. See Texas Estates Code 22.017
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Individual: means a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
  • Joint session: When both chambers of a legislature adopt a concurrent resolution to meet together.
  • Judge: means the presiding judge of any court having original jurisdiction over probate proceedings, regardless of whether the court is:
    (1) a county court in the exercise of its probate jurisdiction;
    (2) a court created by statute and authorized to exercise probate jurisdiction; or
    (3) a district court exercising probate jurisdiction in a contested matter. See Texas Estates Code 22.019
  • Juror: A person who is on the jury.
  • Land commissioner: means the Commissioner of the General Land Office. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Law: means a constitution, statute, city charter, or city ordinance. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Law: means the constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States, a written opinion of a court of record, a municipal ordinance, an order of a county commissioners court, or a rule authorized by and lawfully adopted under a statute. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. Source: U.S. Mint
  • Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
  • Legatee: includes a person who is entitled to a legacy under a will. See Texas Estates Code 22.021
  • Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • lien: include :
    (1) a deed of trust;
    (2) a vendor's lien, a mechanic's, materialman's, or laborer's lien, an attachment or garnishment lien, and a federal or state tax lien;
    (3) a chattel mortgage;
    (4) a judgment; and
    (5) a pledge by hypothecation. See Texas Estates Code 22.024
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Livestock: means cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, exotic livestock, including elk and elk hybrids, and hogs, unless otherwise defined. See Texas Agriculture Code 1.003
  • Local canvass: means the canvass of the precinct election returns. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Measure: means a question or proposal submitted in an election for an expression of the voters' will. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Minor: means a person younger than 18 years of age who:
    (1) has never been married; and
    (2) has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes. See Texas Estates Code 22.022
  • Misdemeanor: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by fine, by confinement in jail, or by both fine and confinement in jail. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Oath: includes affirmation. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Official proceeding: means any type of administrative, executive, legislative, or judicial proceeding that may be conducted before a public servant. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Omission: means failure to act. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Owner: means a person who:
    (A) has title to the property, possession of the property, whether lawful or not, or a greater right to possession of the property than the actor; or
    (B) is a holder in due course of a negotiable instrument. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Peace officer: means a person elected, employed, or appointed as a peace officer under Article Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
  • Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • person interested: means :
    (1) an heir, devisee, spouse, creditor, or any other having a property right in or claim against an estate being administered; and
    (2) anyone interested in the welfare of an incapacitated person, including a minor. See Texas Estates Code 22.018
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes an interest in:
    (1) goods;
    (2) money;
    (3) a chose in action;
    (4) an evidence of debt; and
    (5) a real chattel. See Texas Estates Code 22.028
  • personal representative: include :
    (1) an executor and independent executor;
    (2) an administrator, independent administrator, and temporary administrator; and
    (3) a successor to an executor or administrator listed in Subdivision (1) or (2). See Texas Estates Code 22.031
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Political subdivision: means a county, city, or school district or any other governmental entity that:
    (A) embraces a geographic area with a defined boundary;
    (B) exists for the purpose of discharging functions of government; and
    (C) possesses authority for subordinate self-government through officers selected by it. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Possession: means actual care, custody, control, or management. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Primary election: means an election held by a political party under Chapter 172 to select its nominees for public office, and, unless the context indicates otherwise, the term includes a presidential primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Public servant: means a person elected, selected, appointed, employed, or otherwise designated as one of the following, even if he has not yet qualified for office or assumed his duties:
    (A) an officer, employee, or agent of government;
    (B) a juror or grand juror; or
    (C) an arbitrator, referee, or other person who is authorized by law or private written agreement to hear or determine a cause or controversy; or
    (D) an attorney at law or notary public when participating in the performance of a governmental function; or
    (E) a candidate for nomination or election to public office; or
    (F) a person who is performing a governmental function under a claim of right although he is not legally qualified to do so. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Real property: includes estates and interests in land, whether corporeal or incorporeal or legal or equitable. See Texas Estates Code 22.030
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
  • Residence address: means the street address and any apartment number, or the address at which mail is received if the residence has no address, and the city, state, and zip code that correspond to a person's residence. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Secure correctional facility: means :
    (A) a municipal or county jail; or
    (B) a confinement facility operated by or under a contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Serious bodily injury: means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Special election: means an election that is not a general election or a primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Statewide office: means an office of the federal or state government that is voted on statewide. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Surety: includes a personal surety and a corporate surety. See Texas Estates Code 22.032
  • Swear: includes affirm. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Uniform election date: means an election date prescribed by § 41. See Texas Election Code 1.005
  • Unlawful: means criminal or tortious or both and includes what would be criminal or tortious but for a defense not amounting to justification or privilege. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Victim advocate: work with prosecutors and assist the victims of a crime.