Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Can You Change Your Early Vote In Texas?

Shutterstock

No, you can't.

There are only seven states that allow early voters to change their minds after they’ve cast their ballots: Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

But even so, the conditions to change an early vote vary from state to state.CNNreports in most of those states, a person having second thoughts would have to show up on Election Day to a polling location to re-vote in person and that ballot would nullify their previous one.

 

In Connecticut, voters who cast an absentee ballot can request on Nov. 8 that their mailed-in ballot be withdrawn, and then they can cast a new ballot, but the request has to be made before 10 a.m., Politico reports.But in Wisconsin, early or absentee voters can cast a ballot up to three times.

 

 

Vote changing vs. vote flipping

Along with changing a vote, there’s been speculation of “vote flipping” at the polls — meaning machines are allegedly malfunctioning to change a person’s vote for president on straight-ticket ballots. Soon after early voting began last week, reports of vote flipping in Texas were coming in, and even Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was curious,tweeting: “What is going on?”

 

Those reports originated in Tarrant County, which has been associated with an investigation of voter fraud and otherpoll problems recently. But the claims of vote flipping were largely debunked,The Texas Tribunereports. And any perceived complications with the machines were due to user error, not malice on the electronic ballot’s end.

 Having problems voting?

Problems at the polls aren’t to be taken lightly, however. You can report any issues during early voting by texting TXDECIDES to69866. We’ll check in to find out how long it took you to vote and whether you had or saw any problems.And, you can call the Secretary of State for Texas at (800) 252-VOTE. Also, be sure to reviewyour rights as a voter, and that includesvoters with disabilities.   

 

Learn more about the issues this election Last but not least, for the latest national and local election coverage explore ourElections pageand join the conversation on social media using the hashtag#TXDecides.

Copyright 2016 KERA

Molly Evans is the Assistant Producer of Digital News at KERA. She writes, edits and curates news content on KERANews.org. She also maintains the Twitter feed for KERA News. Molly previously served as Digital Coordinator, maintaining KERA’s websites and various digital platforms as well as designing graphics, participating in digital projects and site builds and offering technical assistance to the staff. She has worked at KERA since January 2015. Before KERA, Molly interned with This Land Press in Tulsa, TulsaPeople magazine World Literature Today in Norman and the Oklahoma Gazette in Oklahoma City, where she also freelanced. She also wrote and edited for The Oklahoma Daily, the award-winning student newspaper at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Molly graduated from OU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in Spanish in December 2014. She was awarded Outstanding Senior in Journalism from the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Molly is a native of Tulsa, Okla.