Garwood, Texas Public Records

Texas offers online voter registration through the Secretary of State's website at https://www.votetexas.gov/. New residents must register at least 30 days before an election to be eligible to vote in that election. Applicants need a Texas driver's license or state ID number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Texas does not have online registration updates for address changes within the same county; voters must submit a new registration application. As an unincorporated community, Garwood does not hold municipal elections for mayor or city council, as no city government exists. Residents instead participate in Colorado County elections for county offices including County Judge, County Commissioners (by precinct), Sheriff, County Clerk, District Clerk, Tax Assessor-Collector, County Attorney, and Treasurer. These county offices typically appear on the November general election ballot in even-numbered years, with some offices elected in presidential years and others in gubernatorial midterm years. To find their assigned polling location, voters can use the Texas Secretary of State's polling place lookup tool at https://teamroster.sos.texas.gov/ or contact the County Elections office directly. Early voting is available at designated locations in Columbus, typically for two weeks before election day, including weekend hours. Under Texas election law, certain election records are public information. Voter registration lists are available for purchase for political purposes, and the county maintains public records of who voted in each election (though not how they voted). Campaign finance reports for county candidates and local measures are filed with the Colorado County Clerk and are available for public inspection. Candidate applications and filings are public records maintained by the Elections Administrator. At the federal level, Texas will hold elections for all U.S. House seats, though no U.S.Current federal, state, and local election schedules, ballot contests, candidate filings, and certified results for Garwood voters are published by the Texas Secretary of State Elections Division (https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/). Voters should check with the County Elections office in 2026 for the specific local races and any bond propositions or local measures that may appear on the ballot. Texas offers mail-in (absentee) voting, but eligibility is restricted compared to many states. To vote by mail in Texas, voters must be 65 years or older on election day, have a disability or illness, be confined in jail but otherwise eligible, or be out of the county during the entire early voting period and on election day. Applications for mail-in ballots (officially called "Applications for Ballot by Mail") must be submitted to the Colorado County Elections Administrator and received no later than 11 days before election day. The application can be downloaded from https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/voter/reqabbm.shtml or requested by calling the Elections office at (979) 732-2155. Completed ballots must be returned by mail and received by 7:00 PM on election day, or hand-delivered by the voter (if delivering in person, certain identification requirements apply). Texas does not offer online ballot request submission or universal mail voting.