La Porte, Texas Public Records

Texas residents can register to vote through the Texas Secretary of State website at www.texas.gov or by completing a paper application available at libraries, county offices, and various state agencies. Unlike many states, Texas does not allow online submission of voter registration. Applications must be postmarked or submitted at least 30 days before an election. To register, applicants must be United States citizens, residents of the county where they register, at least 17 years and 10 months old (though 18 to actually vote), and not finally convicted of a felony or, if convicted, have completed their sentence including probation or parole. Acceptable identification for voting includes a Texas driver's license, Texas Election Identification Certificate, Texas personal identification card, Texas handgun license, U.S. Military ID card with photo, U.S. Citizenship certificate with photo, or U.S. Passport. The City of La Porte holds municipal elections for mayor and city council positions, with the mayor and council members serving three-year staggered terms. Municipal elections typically occur on the uniform election date in May of odd-numbered years. Candidate filing information, ballot measures, and voter guides specific to the community are available through the City Secretary's office at 281-471-5020 and posted at www.laportetx.gov as election dates approach. Residents can find their assigned polling place by visiting www.harrisvotes.com and using the "Find My Polling Place" tool, which requires entering the voter's residential address. The website provides polling locations for both early voting and election day, including hours of operation, accessibility information, and directions. The county operates numerous early voting locations throughout the area during the early voting period, which begins 17 days before election day and ends four days before election day. On election day, voters must cast ballots at their assigned precinct polling place. Under Texas law, several categories of election records are public information. Voter registration lists are public and can be purchased from the county voter registrar or Secretary of State, though commercial use is prohibited. Campaign finance reports filed by candidates and political committees are public and searchable through the Texas Ethics Commission website at www.ethics.state.tx.us. Candidate applications and ballot measure filings are public records maintained by the Harris County elections office and city secretary. Election results by precinct are published after certification and available through the Harris County Elections website and the Texas Secretary of State's election results database. 46 million votes cast out of approximately 2.The county consistently has one of the highest raw vote totals of any county in Texas due to its large population. While there is no U.S. County voters will also decide offices including Harris County Judge, County Commissioners for precincts on the cycle, County Clerk, District Clerk, County Attorney, Sheriff, Tax Assessor-Collector, County Treasurer, and numerous district judges and justices of the peace. Voters should verify their specific legislative districts at www.harrisvotes.com. Texas has restrictive absentee voting laws. Mail-in ballots (called "voting by mail" in Texas) are only available to voters who: (1) are 65 years of age or older; (2) will be absent from the county during the entire early voting period and on election day; (3) are sick or disabled; or (4) are confined in jail but eligible to vote. Applications for ballots to be voted by mail must be received by the county early voting clerk no later than the close of business on the 11th day before election day. Applications and detailed instructions are available at www.harrisvotes.com or by calling 713-755-6965.