The State of Texas
Elections Division
P.O. Box 12060
Austin, Texas 78711-2060
www.sos.texas.gov

Phone: 512-463-5650
Fax: 512-475-2811
Dial 7-1-1 For Relay Services
(800) 252-VOTE (8683)

Ruth R. Hughs
Secretary of State
ELECTION ADVISORY
N0. 2020-14
TO:

Election Officials

FROM:

Keith Ingram, Director of Elections

DATE:

April 2, 2020

RE:

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Voting and Election Procedures

The purpose of this advisory is to assist election officials in facilitating voting for individuals that
may be affected by COVID-19, and in preparing for the conduct of elections in the context of this
public health issue.

Voter Registration Procedures
Stay-at-home orders and office closures in your jurisdiction may impact voters seeking to obtain voter
registration applications. There are several existing options that you should encourage voters to
utilize:
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In-County Updates via Texas Online: If a voter has moved within the same county, the
voter may update their address online at www.Texas.gov. Voters that are active or in suspense
can update their name and/or residence address through this secure website.
Printed Voter Registration Applications: If a voter has access to a printer, the voter can
use the SOS Informal Online Application to complete a voter registration application. This
application can be printed and mailed to the applicable county voter registrar. When the voter
selects their county of residence, it will preprint the county voter registrar’s address on the
form so that when the voter mails it, they send it directly to their county voter registrar.
Postage-Paid Voter Registration Applications: If a voter does not have access to a printer,
the voter can request that a blank postage-paid voter registration application be mailed directly
to the voter. The voter can fill out the request form on the SOS website. Counties can also
mail blank applications to voters upon request.
Revisions to Voter Registration Certificate: If a voter has their current voter registration
certificate, they may make any necessary corrections or updates to the certificate, sign it and
return it to the voter registrar.

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Register2Vote.org: This is a third-party website that provides a remote printing option for
voters. Voters can complete a form online and have a pre-filled application sent to them for
completion. The voter must complete the form, sign it, and mail it in the included postagepaid envelope. This form is sent directly to the county voter registrar.

Voting Procedures Authorized under the Texas Election Code
Below we have described some of the procedures that are authorized under Texas law that may be of
assistance to voters that are affected by a recent sickness or a physical disability.
Voting by Mail
In Texas, in order to vote by mail, a voter must have a qualifying reason. A voter may vote early by
mail if they:
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will be away from their county on Election Day and during early voting;
are sick or disabled;
are 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
are confined in jail, but eligible to vote.

One of the grounds for voting by mail is disability. The Election Code defines “disability” to include
“a sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the polling place on
election day without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring the voter's health.”
(Sec. 82.002). Voters who meet this definition and wish to vote a ballot by mail must submit an
application for ballot by mail.
 Application for a Ballot by Mail.
Chapter 102, Late Voting Due to Recent Sickness or Physical Disability
The Election Code authorizes late voting if a voter becomes sick or disabled on or after the day before
the last day for submitting an application for a ballot to be voted by mail, and is unable to go to the
polling place on Election Day. The voter must designate a representative to submit an application on
the voter’s behalf in person to the early voting clerk. To be eligible to serve as a voter’s representative,
a person: 1) must be at least 18 years of age; 2) must not be employed by or related within the third
degree by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code, to a
candidate whose name appears on the ballot; and 3) must not have served in the election as the
representative for another applicant. The application must be received before 5:00 p.m. on Election
Day. The application is reviewed and the early voting clerk verifies the applicant’s registration status
in the same manner as early voting by mail. The early voting clerk must provide the same balloting
materials that are used for early voting by mail to the representative who will deliver them to the
voter. The voter should mark and seal the ballot in the same manner as voting by mail including
signing the back flap of the carrier envelope. The ballot must be returned in its carrier envelope to
the early voting clerk before 7:00 p.m. on Election Day by the same representative who delivered
the ballot to the voter.
 Application for Emergency Early Voting Ballot Due to Sickness or Physical Disability
 Instructions for Voter to include with Balloting Materials

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Chapter 104, Voting at Main Early Voting Location
The Election Code authorizes voters who are sick or disabled to vote on Election Day at the main
early voting place, so long as voting machines of some type are used in the voter’s precinct and the
voter’s sickness or disability prevents the voter from voting in the regular manner without personal
assistance or likelihood of injury. For this procedure, the voter must complete and submit the
applicable affidavit to be provided with the balloting materials used for early voting by mail. The
voter must mark and seal the ballot in the same manner as in early voting by mail, except that the
certificate on the carrier envelope need not be completed. After sealing the carrier envelope, the voter
must give it to the clerk at the main early voting polling place between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and
7:00 p.m. The Early Voting Clerk must note on the envelope that the ballot was voted under Chapter
104.
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Affidavit for Voting at Early Voting Place on Election Day

Curbside Voting
If a voter is physically unable to enter the polling place without assistance or likelihood of injury to
his or her health, the voter is eligible for entrance or curbside voting. (Sec. 64.009). This option must
be made available at all polling locations. To provide for voting curbside, the voter must be qualified
by the election officer before the voter can receive the ballot. An election officer may deliver a ballot
or a DRE voting machine to the voter at the entrance or curb of the polling place. Poll watchers and
inspectors must be allowed to accompany the election officer. Once the voter has marked his or her
ballot, the election officer deposits the ballot for the voter. On the voter’s request, a person
accompanying the voter to the polling place must be permitted to select the voter’s ballot and to
deposit the ballot in the ballot box after the voter has voted. If the voter is not only physically unable
to enter the polling place, but is also eligible for voter assistance in marking his or her ballot, they
may receive assistance in marking and completing their ballot in accordance with Chapter 64,
Subchapter B of the Election Code. Either two election officers may assist the voter or the voter may
be given assistance by a person of the voter’s choice, other than the voter’s employer, an agent of that
employer or an officer or agent of the voter’s labor union. For voters that are voting at the curbside,
instruct polling place workers to allow the curbside voter the same privacy as a voter in the
voting booth. We anticipate providing further guidance regarding curbside voting in the coming
weeks.

Potential Court Order to Address Quarantined Voters
Voting in-person during early voting or on Election Day may not be an available option for all voters,
including those affected by quarantines. Political subdivisions may need to act quickly to address the
rapidly changing public health situation. In monitoring your situations locally, it is important to note
that you may have a need to modify certain voting procedures. In these circumstances, you may want
to consider seeking a court order to authorize exceptions to the voting procedures outlined in certain
chapters of the Texas Election Code for these voters. The following are possible considerations:
1. Expanding Eligibility Requirements Under Chapter 102 (Late Voting for Sickness or
Physical Disability): A court order could provide for a temporary expansion of the eligibility
requirements for Chapter 102 voting to allow voters in quarantine to vote in this fashion. This
option would also require the court, in some instances, to temporarily waive or modify the

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requirement for a physician’s signature on the application for this type of late ballot for
purposes of any election(s) impacted by COVID-19.
2. Other Modifications to Voting Procedures: A court order could provide for modifications
to other voting procedures as necessary to address the impact of COVID-19 within the
jurisdiction. For example, in 2014, Dallas County obtained a court order authorizing modified
voting procedures for individuals affected by the Ebola quarantine, modeled on the
procedures outlined in Section 105.004 of the Texas Election Code for certain military voters
in hostile fire pay zones.
If your county obtains a court order allowing modifications to voting procedures to address
COVID-19, please send a copy of the court order to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Other Considerations Related to COVID-19 or Other Illnesses
If your political subdivision is affected by a stay-at-home order, quarantine or outbreak of COVID19 or any other type of illness, the conduct of your elections could be impacted. In order to protect
the health and safety of election workers, below are some considerations:
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Cleaning and Sanitizing Voting System Equipment:
o Voting System and e-Pollbook Equipment: Please check with your vendor about
the specific procedures you should follow to clean and sanitize any equipment that
is handled by voters or polling place workers. We received specific information
from the following vendors about proper techniques for cleaning equipment:
 Hart Intercivic Voting System Equipment: Users may wipe Hart
equipment with 50% or higher clear, fragrance-free, isopropyl alcohol
solution and a lint-free wipe. Do not use ammonia or detergent-based
solutions as these may be harmful to the screen or the plastics surrounding
the display. To avoid spotting, make certain that equipment screens are
wiped dry (do not leave puddles).
 ES&S Voting System Equipment: You can use a soft, line free cloth and
isopropyl alcohol to clean the touchscreen of the voting machine. Do not
spray directly on the touch screen. Only lightly dampen the cloth, do not
soak it. Do not use any harsh cleaning products on the screen as this may
damage the touch screen. Do not allow any liquid cleaner to come in
contact with ballot stock.

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Cleaning and Sanitizing Polling Places: The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has issued recommendations for preventing the spread of coronavirus
specifically in election polling locations. Here are a few of their specific suggestions:
o Encourage workers to wash hands frequently: wash hands often with soap and
water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an
alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
o Practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces with household
cleaning spray or wipe: including tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles,
desks, toilets, faucets, sinks, etc.

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o Disinfect surfaces that may be contaminated with germs after cleaning: A list
of products with EPA-approved emerging viral pathogens claims is available on
the EPA’s website. Products with EPA-approved emerging viral pathogens claims
are expected to be effective against the virus that causes COVID-19 based on data
for harder to kill viruses. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning
and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application method and contact
time, use of personal protective equipment).
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Arrangement of Polling Places: It is imperative that you review your procedures related
to setting up your polling place. Voting stations should be set up in a way that adheres to
the suggested social and physical distance guidelines and allow for at least 6 feet between
voters. Additionally, you should review your check-in stations to ensure you are
providing adequate space between voters. This may include providing your workers with
tape to mark off spacing guidelines on the floor of the polling place.

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Election Judges and Clerks:
o Training and Recruiting of Election Workers:
 Recruitment of Election Workers: We recommend that you make efforts
to recruit and train additional workers beyond what you project to need for
a given election. This will ensure that you have adequate back up workers
to assist in the event that you have election workers that are unavailable at
the last minute.
• Recruiting from Current Workers: With regard to recruiting
workers, you may want to ask your current appointed judges to provide
recommendations of other individuals that can serve. Additionally,
you may have different judges and clerks depending on the type of
election you hold. We suggest you reach out to your entire pool of
potential workers to determine availability for 2020 election dates.
• Student Election Clerks: You may also want to consider enlisting
student election clerks in your pool of available workers. For elections
occurring outside of the school year, the student clerks would not need
to obtain permission from their high school principal provided they
obtained permission from their parent or legal guardian.
 Training of Election Workers: In order to train a larger pool of workers,
you may want to consider allowing your election workers to utilize the
Secretary of State’s online Poll Worker Training. This training is focused
on the legal procedures related to acceptance of voters and the voting
process. Any procedures that are specific to your county would need to be
provided through additional training or supplemental materials.
o Unavailability of Judges: If both the presiding judge and alternate judge are
unavailable to serve and this is discovered after the 20 th day before election day,
the presiding officer of the appointing authority, or if the presiding officer is
unavailable, the authority responsible for distributing supplies for the election,
shall appoint a replacement judge. (Sec. 32.007). Additionally, if the authority is

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unable to find an election judge who is a qualified voter of the specific precinct
needing a judge, the authority may appoint individuals that meet the eligibility
requirements of an election clerk which encompasses a broader territory. (Sec
32.051(b)).
Type of Election

Presiding Officer of
Appointing Authority

Authority responsible
for Delivering Supplies

Primary Election

County Chair of Political
Party

County Chair of
Political Party

Joint Primary

County Election Officer

County Election Officer

County Judge

County Election Officer

Cities

Mayor

City Secretary

Other Political
Subdivision Elections

Presiding Officer of
Governing Body of
Political Subdivision

Secretary of Governing
Body; if no secretary,
the presiding officer
of governing body

General Election for State
and County Officers or
County Ordered Election

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Polling Locations:
o Review List of Locations: We recommend reviewing your list of current polling
locations to determine if you should consider proactively relocating them. For
example, if you are currently using assisted living facilities or residential care
facilities that have residents that would be in one of the higher-risk categories,
relocating the polling place may be in the best interest of the individuals at that
location. Please be advised that if you choose to relocate a polling place in a
facility like this, we strongly recommend that you provide information to the
residents about voting by mail to ensure that they are still able to vote in upcoming
elections without the difficulty of leaving the facility to travel to a different polling
place. Additionally, you should be monitoring your current polling places to
determine if any of those locations have been closed as a result of business or
government building closures.
o Unavailable Locations: If polling locations become unavailable, you may need
to relocate your polling location or combine and consolidate that location with
another polling place in close proximity to it. To the extent possible, any changes
to polling locations must be made in accordance with Chapters 42 and 43 of the
Texas Election Code. If you are in a situation where you will have difficulty
complying with these chapters, please contact the Secretary of State’s office to
discuss other available options.

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▪ Notice of Changes to Polling Locations: Please be advised that if you
have a polling location change, you must post notice of that change at
the location that is no longer being used. Any websites that contain
polling locations should be updated. For certain county-run elections,
polling place information must also be updated with the Secretary of
State’s office, if applicable.
o Website Notices: At this time, you may want to consider posting a notice on your
website instructing voters to check your website for updates and changes to polling
locations prior to early voting and election day. This will help ensure that voters
are always getting updated and accurate information.
Voting by Mail Considerations: At this time, the CDC has not provided any special
recommendations or precautions for the storage of ballots. However, it is recommended
that workers handling mail ballots practice hand hygiene frequently. Please continue to
stay updated on the CDC’s website as they provide additional recommendations regarding
the handling of mail and other topics.
o Additional Ballot by Mail Supplies: Because there may be a higher volume of
ballot by mail requests in 2020, we strongly recommend that you review your
current supply of applications, balloting materials, and ballot stock for future
elections. It is important you have the necessary supply on hand to meet increased
requests you may receive.
Election Office Hours: Election officials are required to maintain certain office hours
related to their election duties for a prescribed number of days before and after an election.
If your office is closed for public health reasons or you are unable to be at your office
during the mandatory office hour time frame, we advise that entities post information on
how to get in contact with the applicable officials for election related information. This
may include posting phone numbers, an email address that can receive public inquiries,
or even a mailing address that can receive written requests for information. We
recommend that you assign someone to periodically check for voicemails, emails, or mail
related to your election.
Voter Registration Office Hours: Section 12.004(c) requires the voter registrar’s office
to be open while the polls are open on the date of any election held in the county on a
uniform election date. If you have entities that will be holding an election on May 2, 2020,
you must satisfy this requirement. However, we believe that as long as you can provide
answers to voter registration questions remotely and you notify your entities about how
to reach you, you do not need to be physically in the office. You must also be able to
provide all of the same voter registration services you would otherwise provide to your
local political subdivisions if you were in the office.
Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDR): You still have a legal obligation to process
volunteer deputy registrar applications. If you must suspend volunteer deputy registrar
classes, we strongly advise that you adopt the SOS online Volunteer Deputy Registrar
training and in-person examination option. This would allow you to schedule the
examinations based on need or desire by VDRs and would allow you to temporarily
reduce or cancel in-person training as dictated by your county’s circumstances. For more
information about adopting the online training and examination, please see Advisory
2019-04. Additionally, you still have an obligation to receive voter registration

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applications from VDRs. To eliminate person-to-person contact, you could provide drop
boxes for voter registration applications. These drop boxes should be located in close
proximity to your main office or connected to it. They should be secured and checked
regularly.
Cybersecurity Impacts: If your political subdivision is affected by a widespread
quarantine or outbreak of COVID-19 or any other type of illness, your office staff might
be mandated to work remotely. In addition, the volume of voters that will start to utilize
your internet-based resources will increase. During a crisis situation, bad actors may try
to capitalize on the circumstances to take actions that could compromise the security of
your elections office. Please remain vigilant about following best practices related to
cybersecurity and election security.
o Service Interruption: Networks are normally built to sustain high volume traffic,
but the magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis presents an increased risk that systems
may become compromised. An abnormal increase in network traffic could be
misinterpreted as a DOS (Denial of Service) attack which could shut down
networks depending on the type of security implementation.
o Ransomware: Cybercriminals can infect the computers of government agencies
before demanding that they pay a ransom for an encryption key that will free their
locked files and records. Ransomware can lock up databases preventing polling
places from verifying eligibility and confirming that voters are in the right
districts/precincts.
o Election Systems and e-Pollbook Equipment: As mentioned above, databases
are susceptible because they must have a constant network connectivity. When
relocating polling places, it is very important to ensure that the systems are
connected to a secure and reliable network.
o Voter Registration Scams: Voter registration procedures are not conducted over
the phone or the internet other than the previously mentioned authorized
channels. Be aware of scams that are targeted to steal personally identifiable
information from voters and/or election workers. It is especially important not to
provide personal information of voters or election workers over the phone if your
office is solicited in this manner.
Communications Plan: You should develop a plan for communicating to voters and
election workers when any changes occur that may impact them. The communications
plan should involve updating your official website with specific details. Any use of social
media should direct people back to your official website to ensure that only official,
accurate, and authorized information is being disseminated to the public. We suggest you
develop a plan for working with local media to keep the public informed. Finally, any
major changes that affect the election process in your county should be communicated to
the Secretary of State’s office.

Additional Resources
Here are a list of additional resources that may be helpful to you.
 Election Assistance Commission - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Recommendations for Election Polling
Locations
Texas Department of State Health Services – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

If you have any questions regarding this advisory, please contact the Elections Division at 1-800252-2216.
KI:CA