Election Advisory No. 2018-32

To:	County Elections Officers (County Clerks/Elections Administrators/Tax Assessors-Collectors)
From:	Keith Ingram, Director of Elections
Date:	October 9, 2018
RE:	Limited Ballot Voters and District Chart (Chapters 111 and 112, Texas Election Code)

A registered voter who has moved from the county in which he or she is registered to a new county of residence in Texas, and who will not be registered to vote in the new county on or before November 6, 2018 may be eligible to vote a “limited ballot” in person or by mail in the new county of residence in the upcoming November 6, 2018 General Election under the following conditions:

The person seeking to vote a limited ballot would be eligible to vote in the former county of residence on election day if still residing there;
The person seeking to vote a limited ballot is registered to vote in the former county of residence at the time the person (1) offers to vote in the new county of residence or (2) applies for registration in the new county; and
The person’s voter registration is not effective in the new county of residence on or before election day.

Time for Casting Limited Ballot

Voters may vote using this limited ballot procedure only during the early voting period, which is Monday, October 22, 2018 through Friday, November 2, 2018 for the November 6, 2018 General Election.

In-Person: A person may vote a limited ballot in person only at the main early voting location.
By Mail: If the voter is requesting a limited ballot by mail, the voter must be eligible under Chapter 82 of the Code to vote by mail.

What is on the Limited Ballot

A person entitled to vote a limited ballot may vote on all statewide races and any district offices that are in common between the former and new counties of residence.

The district chart (PDF) indicates each district race in your county, as well as the district races in other Texas counties. The district chart is to assist you in determining the races for which eligible voters may vote when applying for a limited ballot. The district chart does not detail precincts that are in common if your county contains only part of a district. If a voter moves from one county to another and the county is split by a district, the early voting clerk in the new county should contact the clerk in the old county to determine if the district race is in common. The number under the race name is the district number of the race.

In-Person Procedure for Processing Voter Casting a Limited Ballot

As the Early Voting Clerk, once you have determined that a voter is eligible to cast a limited ballot, please follow these steps for processing a voter:

You must attempt to verify the person’s registration status in your county (the voter’s new county) before they are allowed to vote.
Ask the voter to complete an Application for Limited Ballot (PDF).
After the voter has completed the application, you must indicate on the application, the district offices for which the voter is entitled to vote. In any case, the voter may not vote on county or precinct party offices, and those races must be marked off the ballot.
Add the voter to the Poll List of Limited Voters (PDF) rather than signing the early voting combination form.
Add the voter to the Restricted Ballot Roster (PDF).
Provide the voter a limited ballot, and allow the voter to cast their limited ballot. See the next section on casting/counting limited ballots.
Forward a copy of the limited ballot application to the voter registrar in your county so the voter will get registered to vote in his/her new county.
After the election, notify the voter registrar of the former county that the voter has voted under this procedure (Form 5-29) (PDF). This will allow the voter registrar of the former county to cancel the voter's registration.

NOTE: On election day, the polling place official must inform any voter who requests a limited ballot that this process is not available. If the voter insists on voting, they will be required to cast a provisional ballot.

By Mail Procedure for Processing Voter Casting a Limited Ballot

As the Early Voting Clerk, once you have determined that a voter is eligible to cast a limited ballot, please follow these steps for processing a voter:

You must attempt to verify the person’s registration status in your county (the voter’s new county) before they are allowed to vote.
The voter must complete an Application for Limited Ballot (PDF) and complete an Application for Ballot by Mail (PDF). The voter should mail them together to the Early Voting Clerk.
After you receive the voter’s Application for Limited Ballot, you must indicate on the application, the district offices for which the voter is entitled to vote. In any case, the voter may not vote on county or precinct party offices, and those races must be marked off the ballot.
Add the voter to the Restricted Ballot Roster (PDF).
Mail the voter their limited ballot. See the next section on casting/counting limited ballots.
Once the marked mail ballot is returned, add the voter to the Poll List of Mail Voters (PDF).
Forward a copy of the limited ballot application to the voter registrar in your county so the voter will get registered to vote in his/her new county.
After the election, notify the voter registrar of the former county that the voter has voted under this procedure (Form 5-29) (PDF). This will allow the voter registrar of the former county to cancel the voter's registration.

Casting and Counting Limited Ballots by Voting Method

Casting the Vote	Counting the Vote
DREs Provide an early voting by-mail ballot to voter (i.e., a paper or optical scan ballot). Using the same type of marking instrument provided to voters, the election custodian must mark through ineligible district offices and county and precinct offices AND overvote the marks next to those races, in the event the voter attempts to vote in the ineligible races anyway. Note: On some systems making a mark next to an uncontested race will result in a vote for that uncontested local race. In this instance, please do not mark the oval or arrow next to the uncontested candidate’s name. Voter places voted limited ballot in a container or ballot box specially designated for limited ballots.	DREs-Option #1 Hand count the voter’s choices. These numbers are then manually added to the vote results in the election management system. DREs-Option #2 The election custodian lines through the serial number on the ballot to render it unreadable by the optical scan machine. Duplicate into Ballot Programming System. DREs-Option #3 Run the ballot through the tabulator in the same manner as the regular by-mail ballots. Don’t forget to review the ballot first to ensure that no votes were cast for ineligible races; if they were, the ballot should be duplicated (See Option #2 above).
Optical Scan method Provide an optical scan ballot (from whatever source is available – by-mail, early voting in person, or extra election day precinct). The election custodian at the main early voting location lines through the serial number on the ballot to render it unreadable by the optical scan machine. OR Using the same type of marking instrument provided to voters, the election custodian must mark through ineligible district offices and county and precinct offices AND overvote the marks next to those races, in the event the voter attempts to vote in the ineligible races anyway but leave serial number intact for counting by tabulator. Note: On some systems making a mark next to an uncontested race will result in a vote for that uncontested local race. In this instance, please do not mark the oval or arrow next to the uncontested candidate’s name. Voter places voted limited ballot in regular ballot box designated for early voters or a container or ballot box specially designated for limited ballots, depending on the direction by the local elections custodian.	Optical Scan method-Option #1 Hand count the voter’s choices. These numbers are then manually added to the vote results in the election management system. Optical Scan method-Option #2 (If not done prior to voting) The election custodian lines through the serial number on the ballot to render it unreadable by the optical scan machine. Duplicate voted ballot onto a new optical scan ballot. Record the number of the duplicated ballot onto the new ballot. Run new ballot through tabulator. Optical Scan method-Option #3 Run the ballot through the tabulator. Don’t forget to review the ballot first to ensure that no votes were cast for ineligible races; if they were, the ballot should be duplicated (See Option #2 above)

Casting the Vote

Counting the Vote

DREs

Provide an early voting by-mail ballot to voter (i.e., a paper or optical scan ballot).
Using the same type of marking instrument provided to voters, the election custodian must mark through ineligible district offices and county and precinct offices AND overvote the marks next to those races, in the event the voter attempts to vote in the ineligible races anyway.

Note: On some systems making a mark next to an uncontested race will result in a vote for that uncontested local race. In this instance, please do not mark the oval or arrow next to the uncontested candidate’s name.

Voter places voted limited ballot in a container or ballot box specially designated for limited ballots.

DREs-Option #1

Hand count the voter’s choices. These numbers are then manually added to the vote results in the election management system.

DREs-Option #2

The election custodian lines through the serial number on the ballot to render it unreadable by the optical scan machine.
Duplicate into Ballot Programming System.

DREs-Option #3

Run the ballot through the tabulator in the same manner as the regular by-mail ballots. Don’t forget to review the ballot first to ensure that no votes were cast for ineligible races; if they were, the ballot should be duplicated (See Option #2 above).

Optical Scan method

Provide an optical scan ballot (from whatever source is available – by-mail, early voting in person, or extra election day precinct).
The election custodian at the main early voting location lines through the serial number on the ballot to render it unreadable by the optical scan machine. OR Using the same type of marking instrument provided to voters, the election custodian must mark through ineligible district offices and county and precinct offices AND overvote the marks next to those races, in the event the voter attempts to vote in the ineligible races anyway but leave serial number intact for counting by tabulator.

Note: On some systems making a mark next to an uncontested race will result in a vote for that uncontested local race. In this instance, please do not mark the oval or arrow next to the uncontested candidate’s name.

Voter places voted limited ballot in regular ballot box designated for early voters or a container or ballot box specially designated for limited ballots, depending on the direction by the local elections custodian.

Optical Scan method-Option #1

Hand count the voter’s choices. These numbers are then manually added to the vote results in the election management system.

Optical Scan method-Option #2

(If not done prior to voting) The election custodian lines through the serial number on the ballot to render it unreadable by the optical scan machine.
Duplicate voted ballot onto a new optical scan ballot. Record the number of the duplicated ballot onto the new ballot.
Run new ballot through tabulator.

Optical Scan method-Option #3

Run the ballot through the tabulator. Don’t forget to review the ballot first to ensure that no votes were cast for ineligible races; if they were, the ballot should be duplicated (See Option #2 above)

We recommend using similar methods if you are creating a “federal office only” ballot pursuant to Chapter 114 of the Code.

If you have any questions regarding limited balloting, please contact the Elections Division at 1-800-252-2216.

KI:CA