Who Can Vote by Mail in Rusk County, and How It Actually Works

Texas doesn't do no-excuse mail voting. In Rusk County, as everywhere in the state, you have to fit one of four reasons: you're 65 or older, you're sick or disabled, you'll be out of the county the whole voting period, or you're confined in jail but still eligible. An application is good through December 31 of the year you file it, so the annual seniors who vote by mail re-apply each year.

The Elections Office is at 204 N. Main in Henderson, and there are four ways to get your application to them: mail it to PO Box 668, hand-deliver it to the office, fax it to the Early Voting Clerk at 903-657-0319, or email it to [email protected]. Questions go to 903-657-0321.

Watch out for the quick routes: if you fax or email the application, the original hard copy still has to reach the office by mail within four business days, or it doesn't count. And the deadline to apply is tied to each specific election and is a received-by date, not a postmarked-by date. A ballot request that shows up the day after is too late, no matter when you sent it.