Chicota, Texas Public Records

Texas residents can register to vote online through the Texas Secretary of State's website at votetexas.gov, or by submitting a paper voter registration application available from the Lamar County elections office, libraries, and other public offices. The registration deadline is 30 days before any election. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens, Texas residents, at least 18 years old by election day, and not a convicted felon (unless sentence completed including parole/probation) or declared mentally incapacitated. Valid forms of ID are required when voting in person, including Texas driver's license, election identification certificate, U.S. Passport, military ID, or other government-issued photo ID. Since the community is unincorporated with no municipal government, there are no city council or mayoral elections. Local voters participate in Lamar County elections for County Judge, County Commissioners (the area is in Commissioner Precinct 1), Sheriff, County Clerk, District Clerk, County Attorney, Tax Assessor-Collector, and other countywide offices. These partisan county positions are contested in the Republican and Democratic primary elections (typically March of even-numbered years) and the general election in November. Residents also vote for state representatives (Texas House District 62), state senators (Texas Senate District 1), and federal offices including U.S. House (District 4), U.S. Senate, and President. To find their assigned polling place, voters can use the Texas Secretary of State's polling place lookup tool at teamrv.sos.state.tx.us, search by entering their name and county, or contact the Lamar County Elections Administrator. Early voting is offered at designated locations in Paris for two weeks before any election, with extended hours during the final week. The elections office publishes early voting schedules and locations on the Lamar County website. Under Texas election law, voter registration lists are public records available for purchase for political purposes, though individual voter history (which elections a person voted in) is also public while actual ballot choices remain secret. Campaign finance reports for local candidates are filed with the county and are available for inspection. Precinct-level election results are posted by the elections office after canvassing and remain public record. In the November 2024 presidential election, Lamar County recorded approximately 20,500 votes cast, with turnout around 52% of registered voters. The county historically leans conservative, with Republican candidates typically winning by substantial margins in most races. Looking ahead to November 3, 2026 (the next major election day), voters will decide several significant races. At the state level, all 150 Texas House seats and half of the 31 Texas Senate seats will be contested, including the local House District 62 representative. All statewide executive offices are on the ballot in non-presidential even years in Texas, so voters will elect the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, and three Railroad Commissioners. At the Lamar County level, the County Judge and two of the four County Commissioner positions (elected from single-member precincts on rotating four-year terms) will likely be on the ballot, along with various other county offices depending on term schedules. Numerous Texas state district judges and county court judges face election in 2026. There is no regular U.S. Senate race in Texas in 2026 (the next regular Senate race is 2024 for one seat and 2028 for the other). Texas has restrictive absentee voting rules compared to many states. Mail-in ballots are available only to voters who are 65 or older, disabled, out of the county during the entire early voting period and election day, or confined in jail but otherwise eligible. Applications for mail ballots must be submitted to the Lamar County Elections Administrator and received (not just postmarked) by the deadline, typically the close of business 11 days before election day. Completed ballots must be received (not postmarked) by 7:00 p.m. On election day. Most Texas voters cast ballots in person either during early voting or on election day.