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Caldwell County

Texas — Official Government Website

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Elections Information

Sample ballots, voter ID requirements, equipment certifications, party affiliation rules, provisional and limited ballots, polling-place rules, and resources for Caldwell County voters.

Sample Ballots

Texas Election Code § 52.008: If you print sample ballots for anything other than personal use, they must be printed on yellow paper. To determine your election precinct, refer to the left side of your voter registration card. Your eligibility to vote in specific elections is based on your residential address and its placement within established district boundaries.
May 26, 2026 — Primary Runoff Election
May 2, 2026 — Uniform Election
March 31, 2026 — City of Lockhart District 2 Special Election
March 3, 2026 — Primary Election

Democratic Democratic Primary

Republican Republican Primary

November 4, 2025 — Joint Uniform Election (Constitutional Amendments)
Past elections — archived sample ballots

Sample ballots for prior election cycles (including the May 3, 2025 Joint Uniform Election covering Lantana MUD, Ladera MUD, CC MUD No. 8 & 9, City of Martindale, Lockhart ISD, Luling ISD, Prairie Lea ISD, and Hays CISD) are retained as part of the official election record.

For certified outcomes from past elections, see the Election Results page. For archived ballot copies, contact the Elections Administrator's office at (512) 398-1858.

Current Election Notices

Primary Elections are maintained by each political party in the county. State public notices are posted under each party as they are received by the Elections Office.

May 26, 2026 — Primary Runoff Election

Democratic Democratic Party Notices
Republican Republican Party Notices

Republican Early Voting Ballot Board — Convening Notices

Caldwell County Political Parties

Voter ID Requirements

To vote, all registered voters are required to present an approved form of photo identification in order to vote in all Texas Elections. Acceptable forms of ID and supporting documents are listed below. The address on a photo ID or supporting document does not have to match the address on the list of registered voters.

Reasonable Impediment Declaration

If you do not possess one of the forms of acceptable photo ID and cannot reasonably obtain one, you may execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and present a copy or original of one of the following supporting documents:

  1. A government document showing your name and an address (including your voter registration certificate)
  2. Current utility bill
  3. Bank statement
  4. Government check
  5. Paycheck
  6. (a) A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate, or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law that establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document)

Party Affiliation — Questions & Answers

Quoted from the Texas Secretary of State's advisory. Visit the Texas Secretary of State

1. How does party affiliation work in Texas?

In Texas there are several main ways for a voter to affiliate with a party: by being accepted to vote in a party's primary election, by taking the required oath at a party precinct convention, or by taking a party oath of affiliation generally (§§162.003, 162.006, 162.007). A voter's affiliation with a party automatically expires at the end of each calendar year, on December 31 (§162.010). A voter affiliated with a party is ineligible to participate in the party affairs of another party during the same calendar year (§§162.012, 162.013).

If a voter has not voted in a party primary or taken an oath of affiliation this calendar year, they have not yet affiliated with any party and are able to vote in either party's primary. However, if a voter votes in the primary of one party, they will only be able to vote in that party's primary runoff (§§162.012, 162.013). After affiliating with a party, a voter cannot change or cancel that affiliation until the end of the calendar year (§162.010).

2. Do I have to register or affiliate with a party before I vote in the primary?

No. A registered voter is not required to pre-register or affiliate themselves with a party before voting in a primary election (§162.003). When a person registers to vote in Texas, they do not register with any party affiliation.

3. Do I have to vote in the general primary to vote in a primary runoff?

No. Texas Election Code §11.001 prescribes the qualifications to vote. There is no requirement to have voted in the general primary in order to participate in the subsequent primary runoff.

4. If I voted for one party in a prior year, must I vote in that party's primary this year?

No. A voter's party affiliation ends at the end of each calendar year. Affiliation in a prior year does not affect which primary an unaffiliated voter can vote in this year (§162.010).

5. How can I change my party affiliation?

After affiliating with a party by voting in its primary or taking an oath of affiliation, a voter cannot change affiliation during the same calendar year (§162.010). Affiliation automatically expires at year-end.

6. What if I signed a petition for a candidate?

If you signed a candidate's petition for a place on the primary ballot, you can only vote in that candidate's party primary (or attend its convention) during that voting year (§172.026). For example, signing a Democratic candidate's petition makes you ineligible to vote in the Republican primary that year.

7. Signed a Libertarian/Green Party petition — can I still vote in a primary?

No. Signing a Libertarian or Green Party candidate's petition makes you ineligible to vote in a primary election or attend a different party's convention during that voting year (§§172.026, 141.041).

8. Can I vote in the primary if I turn 18 before the general but not the primary?

No. A voter must have an effective registration date on or before election day (§11.001). The earliest a Texan can submit a registration application is at age 17 years 10 months (§13.001), but the application is not effective until the voter's 18th birthday. A voter who turns 18 between primary day and primary runoff day can register and vote in the primary runoff.

9. Why did they ask if I wanted a Republican or Democratic ballot?

Primary elections are two separate elections on the same day — each party's method for selecting its general-election nominees. A voter who votes in a primary or primary runoff affiliates with that party (§162.003). A voter cannot vote in both primary elections or in one party's primary and another party's runoff (§162.012). When parties share polling places, the voter must identify which primary they want so they receive the correct ballot.

10. Is my participation in a primary confidential?

No. The offices and candidates you voted for are confidential, but the fact that you voted in a particular party's primary is public information and your name will be listed on that party's early-voting and election-day rosters.

11. Why did I have to indicate party preference on my Ballot by Mail application?

Because you cannot participate in both parties' primary elections, you must indicate party preference when voting by mail so the correct ballot style is sent.

12. Does requesting a ballot by mail affiliate me with that party?

Not immediately. A voter doesn't become affiliated until the Early Voting Clerk receives the voted primary ballot (§162.003). If you request a primary ballot but never return it, you are not affiliated with that party (unless you take other affiliation steps).

13. Can I vote in one party's primary and another party's runoff?

No. Voting in a party's primary affiliates you with that party for the rest of the calendar year and makes you ineligible to participate in another party's convention or runoff (§§162.012, 162.013).

14. If I vote in a primary, must I vote for that party's candidates in November?

No. A voter who votes in a primary is not required to vote for that party's candidates in the succeeding general election.

15. I consider myself an independent — can I vote in a primary?

Yes. The act of voting in a primary affiliates a voter with that political party (§162.003). If you have not otherwise affiliated, you can vote in either party's primary.

Election Equipment & Public Testing

Caldwell County is required by law to publicly demonstrate that its automatic tabulating equipment and electronic pollbooks have been tested and certified before each election. Notices and certifications are published below.

May 26, 2026 — Primary Runoff Election

March 3, 2026 — Primary Election

November 4, 2025 — Joint Uniform Election

Provisional & Limited Ballots

What is a Limited Ballot?

Limited ballots are used when a voter has a Texas registration in a county other than their new county of residence. Voters who wish to vote via a Limited Ballot are only eligible to vote during the Early Voting period at the main Early Voting location.

To vote a limited ballot, a voter must:

  • Be eligible to vote in the county of registration if they still lived there;
  • Be registered to vote in the county of former residence at the time the person offers to vote in the new county of residence, or submitted a voter registration application in the new county of residence and their registration will not be effective in the new county by election day (Sec. 112.002).

Voters will be required to complete an Application for Limited Ballot. They will not be eligible to vote for county or precinct offices.

What is a Provisional Ballot?

The 2002 Help America Vote Act requires provisional ballots to be offered to any voter who declares they are a registered and eligible voter of the precinct in which they are appearing, and to any voter whose eligibility is questioned (e.g., shown to have voted early by mail). Texas law echoes the federal requirements and adds that a voter may vote provisionally if they don't have the required photo identification. Provisional ballots are offered during both Early Voting and Election Day.

A provisional ballot will be offered to a voter who:

  • Does not provide an acceptable form of identification.
  • Has a name on their ID not substantially similar to the name on the Official List of Registered Voters.
  • Cannot have their identity verified by the ID presented.
  • Has a disability exemption but no voter registration certificate indicating such exemption.
  • Has a name not on the list of registered voters and no registration certificate, but states they are a registered and eligible voter of the precinct.
  • Has applied for a ballot by mail but has not properly cancelled the mail-ballot application.
  • Votes during polling hours extended by a state or federal court.
  • Is registered to vote but is attempting to vote in a precinct other than the one in which they are registered.
  • Is on the precinct list of registered voters, but whose registered residence address is outside the political subdivision for which they are seeking to vote.

A determination of whether your ballot will be counted is made by the Early Voting Ballot Board after the election. A notice will be mailed to you within 30 days of the election at the address you provided on your affidavit indicating if your vote was counted or not.

If voting without an acceptable form of ID, to have your provisional ballot accepted you must visit the elections office within six days of the election to either present one of the acceptable forms of Photo ID, execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration with a supporting document, submit a temporary form (religious objection or natural disaster exemption) in the presence of the county voter registrar, or submit the paperwork to obtain a permanent disability exemption.

Assistance at the Polls

If you need assistance, tell the election official that you need help to vote. You do not have to provide proof of your disability. Voters are entitled to receive assistance if they:

  • Cannot read or write; or
  • Have a physical disability that prevents them from reading or marking the ballot; or
  • Cannot speak English, or communicate only with sign language, and want assistance in communicating with election officials.

Who may assist you

  • Any person the voter chooses who is not an election worker;
  • Two election workers on Election Day; or
  • One election worker during early voting.

Who may NOT assist you

  • Your employer;
  • An agent of your employer; or
  • An officer or agent of your union.

The person assisting must read the entire ballot unless the voter asks for only parts to be read. The person assisting must take an oath that they will not try to influence the voter's vote and will mark the ballot as the voter directs. It is illegal for a person assisting to: try to influence the voter's vote; mark the voter's ballot differently than directed; or tell anyone how the voter voted.

Interpreters at the Polls

Voters who cannot speak English, or who communicate only with sign language, may use an interpreter — regardless of whether the election official can speak the same language. The interpreter may be anyone other than the voter's employer, an agent of the employer, or an officer/agent of a labor union. If the voter cannot read the languages on the ballot, the interpreter may also act as an assistant. Deaf voters without a sign-language interpreter should contact the local elections office before the election to request assistance.

What's Allowed at the Polling Place

The 100-Foot Marker

You'll notice a cone or distance marker 100 feet from the entrance of the polling place. Inside that 100-foot mark, you are not allowed to post, use, or distribute any political signs or literature relating to a candidate, political party, or measure appearing on your ballot in that election.

Cell Phones & Other Devices

Under Texas law, persons are not allowed to use wireless communications devices within 100 feet of voting stations. Persons are not allowed to use mechanical or electronic devices to record sound or images within 100 feet of voting stations. This includes:

  • Cell phones
  • Cameras
  • Tablet computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Sound recorders
  • Any device that may communicate wirelessly or record sound or images.

What can't I wear?

A person may not wear apparel or a similar communicative device relating to a candidate, measure, or political party appearing on the ballot. The presiding judge may enforce this within the 100-foot marker outside the polling place entrance. You may be asked to remove or cover up your apparel before entering the building.

Curbside Voting

Curbside voting is available to any voter who has difficulty walking or standing for long periods. If you have an assistant with you, when you arrive at the polling location have them notify the election official. The election official will then bring your ballot to your car outside the polling location. If you do not have an assistant, call the indicated number at curbside or follow the procedures posted at the polling location.

Voters That Voted — Rosters

Early Voting reports and lists posted here do not include provisional or limited ballot voters. Rosters are made available no later than 11:00 a.m. the day after the date the information is entered on the roster. See Texas Election Code §87.121.

May 26, 2026 — Primary Runoff
May 2, 2026 — Joint Uniform Election
March 3, 2026 — Primary Election
November 4, 2025 — Joint Uniform Election
Past elections — archived rosters

Voter rosters for the May 3, 2025 Joint Uniform Election are retained as part of the official election record. For certified outcomes from prior elections, see the Election Results page. For archived roster copies, contact the Elections Administrator's office at (512) 398-1858.

Resources & Quick Links

Caldwell County Elections

State & Federal Resources