Moved Counties and Still Registered at the Old Address? Today Is the Last Day for a Limited Ballot - in Harris County, Only at 1001 Preston

HOUSTON - There is a deadline inside today's final day of early voting that most voters will never need and a specific group cannot afford to miss. Under Chapter 112 of the Texas Election Code, a registered voter who moved from one Texas county to another - and whose registration is not yet effective in the new county - may still vote a limited ballot in person. That in-person process ends today, Friday, October 30. It is not available at Election Day polling places on Tuesday.

A limited ballot is narrower than a regular one by design. It covers the elections that cover both the voter's former and current residences - statewide races such as the U.S. Senate contest are the clear example - while county and precinct offices that exist in only one of the two counties generally do not appear. It is also not a provisional ballot: it is a defined procedure for voters who meet Chapter 112's conditions, not a ballot cast while eligibility is sorted out later.

Where it is cast matters as much as when. A limited ballot can only be cast at the new county's main early-voting polling place - not at any neighborhood vote center. For Harris County, the county's official information designates the Harris County Administration Building, in the basement at 1001 Preston Street in downtown Houston, and lists the election office at 713-755-6965 for questions. Voters in other counties must get their own county's main-location instructions, and everyone should confirm eligibility and hours before traveling - the Texas Secretary of State's Elections Division takes general questions at 1-800-252-VOTE.

The practical warning is the story: a qualifying voter who assumes Tuesday will work the same way will find the limited-ballot door closed. Early voting ends at 7 p.m. tonight, and with it ends this election's in-person limited-ballot opportunity.