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Voting history · Texas

Texas

A dated list of changes to how Americans vote: district maps, polling places and drop boxes, voting laws and rules, and courts and election officials. Each entry says who did what and when, shows what became of it, and links to the page it rests on. Attempts that failed are listed as failed. Entries that rest on a news report name the outlet.

This is the state view: events recorded for Texas, then national events that apply here. See the national timeline.

Congressional districts in Texas

Choose a district to see the events tagged to it. A number after the district is how many events name it.

Kind of event
Decade

In Texas

2026

  1. Oct 31, 2026 County Polling places and drop boxes In effect

    Brazos County closes the College Heights Assembly of God polling place in Bryan for Election Day

    KBTX reported on October 31, 2026 that, according to county officials, the Brazos County polling location at College Heights Assembly of God, 4100 Old College Road in Bryan, will not open on Election Day, November 3, 2026, because of a broken air-conditioning unit and a potential loss of water. Officials considered portable cooling units but decided against them to avoid overloading the older building's electrical system while voting machines are in use. Voters may use any other county polling location, including the Legends Event Center at 2533 Midtown Park Blvd., about two miles away.

    Source last checked Oct 31, 2026

  2. Oct 31, 2026 County Polling places and drop boxes In effect

    Brazos County closes the College Heights Assembly of God polling place for Election Day

    On October 31, 2026, Brazos County Elections Administration announced that College Heights Assembly of God, 4100 Old College Road in Bryan, would not be open for voting on November 3, 2026. The county said church officials reported a broken air-conditioning unit and a possible loss of water, and that portable air conditioners could overload the older building's electrical system alongside the voting machines. It named Legends Event Center, 2533 Midtown Park Blvd. in Bryan, 1.9 miles away, as the nearest polling place and noted that Brazos County voters may vote at any polling place in the county.

    Source last checked Nov 2, 2026

  3. Oct 15, 2026 County Polling places and drop boxes Reported

    Harris County has 589 Election Day polling places in 2026, down from 782 in 2022

    KTRK reported on October 15, 2026, citing an ABC News analysis, that Harris County has 589 Election Day polling locations for the 2026 midterms, compared with 782 in the 2022 midterms, a drop of 193. The analysis found declines in some ZIP codes (Acres Homes, eight sites to four; Gulfton, six to three) and increases in others (Spring, nine to 13; Cypress, 13 to 16). A political-science lecturer quoted by the station said fewer people vote on Election Day and more vote early.

    Source last checked Oct 24, 2026

  4. Sep 1, 2026 County Polling places and drop boxes Enacted

    Tarrant County commissioners approve a polling-site list with 92 fewer sites than 2022

    The Texas Tribune reported that on September 1, 2026 Tarrant County commissioners voted 3 to 2 to approve a list of polling sites for the November election with 92 fewer sites than the 2022 midterms, after more than 100 speakers, most opposed, addressed the court in an eight-hour meeting. The Fort Worth Report reported the approved list has 224 Election Day sites and 47 early voting sites. The county elections office's posted early voting schedule for the November 3, 2026 election lists 47 locations.

    Related: Tarrant County commissioners cut Election Day polling sites and early voting locations for November 2025 · Fort Worth judge denies request to reinstate 92 Tarrant County polling sites · University of Texas at Arlington polling site among the 92 Tarrant County removes

    Source last checked Oct 24, 2026

  5. September 2026 County Polling places and drop boxes Reported

    University of Texas at Arlington polling site among the 92 Tarrant County removes

    Spectrum News 1 reported on October 22, 2026 that the Maverick Activity Center at the University of Texas at Arlington was one of the 92 polling locations Tarrant County removed when commissioners voted in September to cut Election Day locations from 316 to 224 and early voting sites from 50 to 47. It reports that County Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig said at a September Commissioners Court meeting that the university had not finalized details, and that the removal was due to classes held in the room during early voting; a student government officer said students were told the site was too expensive to maintain. The nearest alternative named is a county sub-courthouse about a mile away.

    Related: Tarrant County commissioners approve a polling-site list with 92 fewer sites than 2022

    Source last checked Oct 24, 2026

2025

  1. Aug 19, 2025 County Polling places and drop boxes Enacted

    Tarrant County commissioners cut Election Day polling sites and early voting locations for November 2025

    The Fort Worth Report reported that on August 19, 2025 Tarrant County commissioners voted 3 to 2, along party lines, to cut the number of places to cast ballots to 216, down from 331 in the November 2023 election, and to reduce early voting locations.

    Source last checked Oct 21, 2026

2020

  1. Oct 22, 2020 County Polling places and drop boxes Upheld

    Texas Supreme Court lets Harris County keep 10 drive-thru voting sites

    On October 22, 2020, in In re Hotze (No. 20-0819), the Texas Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of mandamus and motion for stay filed by the Harris County Republican Party and others to stop the county's drive-thru voting. Justice Devine dissented from the order, writing that county election officials possess only powers "granted in express words" or "necessarily or fairly implied in an express grant." The Texas Tribune reported that the court acted without an order or opinion and that the challenge concerned the county's 10 drive-thru polling locations.

    Source last checked Oct 22, 2026

  2. Oct 1, 2020 County Polling places and drop boxes Blocked by a court

    Abbott order limits mail-ballot drop-off to one site per county; Harris County had planned a dozen; federal judge blocks the order

    NPR reported on October 2, 2020 that Gov. Greg Abbott's order of October 1 limited each Texas county to a single mail-ballot drop-off location, and that Harris County had originally planned a dozen such sites; the county joined a federal lawsuit against the order. Houston Public Media reported on October 10, 2020 that U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman's ruling the previous night blocked the order, and that Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay of that ruling.

    Source last checked Oct 24, 2026

Nationwide

2026

  1. Oct 20, 2026 National Polling places and drop boxes Reported

    Justice Department begins notifying counties it wants to monitor on Election Day 2026

    NPR reported on October 21, 2026 that the Justice Department began notifying counties it wants to monitor on Election Day starting Tuesday, October 20. NPR confirmed notices to Adams County, Colorado; seven counties in Texas; King County, Washington; Miami-Dade County, Florida; and Hennepin and Ramsey counties in Minnesota. NPR reports that state officials were at first not notified at the same time as counties, and that a department spokesperson said it prioritizes places with competitive elections and would monitor Adams County because it is covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. Colorado's Secretary of State's office told NPR it was considering how to respond, since state rules require observers to have its permission unless a court orders otherwise.

    Related: Justice Department tells Marion County it will send election monitors on November 3; Lake County also named · Justice Department plans election monitors in Bibb, Chatham, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties · Washington County Election Commission votes to keep Justice Department monitors out of polling places · Justice Department says it will send 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states

    Source last checked Oct 22, 2026

  2. October 2026 National Polling places and drop boxes Reported

    Justice Department says it will send 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states

    The Alaska Beacon (States Newsroom) reported on October 29, 2026 that the Justice Department announced that week that it plans to deploy 1,000 federal monitors across all 50 states for the November 3, 2026 election, and that a department spokesperson said the full list of monitored locations will not be disclosed until Election Day. The report says that in the 2022 midterm elections the department sent monitors to 64 jurisdictions in 24 states.

    Related: Justice Department begins notifying counties it wants to monitor on Election Day 2026

    Source last checked Oct 31, 2026

  3. Sep 18, 2026 National Polling places and drop boxes Pending

    Civil rights and labor groups sue over possible federal immigration agents near polling places

    On September 18, 2026, a coalition of nine civil rights and union groups sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling locations in November. States Newsroom reported it as the second such suit that month. The groups argue the policy violates the federal law that bars "armed men" at election sites and the Voting Rights Act's bar on intimidation. A Justice Department spokesperson said: "The DOJ has never said it would send federal law enforcement to polling locations." A Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE was not planning operations that targeted polling locations. No ruling is recorded here.

    Related: Latino and voting groups and the City of Denver sue over armed immigration agents at polling places · Arlington County sues to keep armed federal agents away from its polling places

    Source last checked Oct 21, 2026

  4. Sep 10, 2026 National Polling places and drop boxes Pending

    Latino and voting groups and the City of Denver sue over armed immigration agents at polling places

    On September 10, 2026, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Common Cause, Common Cause Education Fund, UnidosUS and the City and County of Denver, Colorado filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 1:26-cv-03157) against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and their leaders. The complaint alleges that the Homeland Security Secretary's statements of September 1, 2026 set a policy of authorizing armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to go to polling places, which the plaintiffs say violates 18 U.S.C. § 592, the law that bars federal officials from keeping "any troops or armed men at any place where a general or special election is held" except to repel armed enemies of the United States. No ruling is recorded in this entry.

    Related: Civil rights and labor groups sue over possible federal immigration agents near polling places

    Source last checked Oct 21, 2026

2025

  1. Oct 24, 2025 National Polling places and drop boxes In effect

    Justice Department announces it will monitor polling sites in six California and New Jersey counties

    On October 24, 2025, the Justice Department announced that it would monitor polling sites ahead of the November 4, 2025 general election in six jurisdictions: Passaic County, New Jersey, and Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange and Los Angeles counties, California. The release says the Civil Rights Division would deploy personnel who would coordinate with U.S. Attorney's Offices.

    Source last checked Oct 29, 2026

2021

  1. Feb 10, 2021 National Polling places and drop boxes In effect

    Election Assistance Commission adopts Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0

    The Election Assistance Commission says that on February 10, 2021 its commissioners unanimously adopted version 2.0 of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines, the specifications against which voting systems are tested. The EAC says it stopped using versions 1.0 and 1.1 to certify voting systems as of November 16, 2023, and that previously certified systems are not decertified by that change.

    Related: Help America Vote Act of 2002 becomes law

    Source last checked Oct 29, 2026

How this timeline is built

Every entry rests on at least one source that was opened and read, and that source states the date and the fact. Courts, legislatures, election offices, the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, the Federal Register and Congress.gov come first. A news report is used only when no official page states the fact, and it is labeled with the outlet's name. Encyclopedias are not used as sources. History starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. County names come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Congressional district numbers are those in use for the 2026 election; an event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district.

When a later event changes an earlier one, such as a law later struck down, both entries are listed and point to each other. This page does not predict outcomes or say which party a change helps. U.S. House maps for 2026 · How people voted in past elections, by county · Back to the 2026 voting center.