Tex. Codes » Election Code · TITLE 7. EARLY VOTING · SUBTITLE A. EARLY VOTING · CHAPTER 86. CONDUCT OF VOTING BY MAIL
Texas Codes

Tex. Elec. Code § 86.013 (2026)

Official Carrier Envelope

✓ current as of May 2026
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Sec. 86.013. OFFICIAL CARRIER ENVELOPE. (a) "Carrier Envelope for Early Voting Ballot," the name and official title of the early voting clerk as addressee, and the clerk's official mailing address must be printed on the face of each official carrier envelope for a ballot to be voted by mail.

(b) Spaces must appear on the reverse side of the official carrier envelope for:

(1) indicating the identity and date of the election;

(2) entering the signature, printed name, and residence address of a person other than the voter who deposits the carrier envelope in the mail or with a common or contract carrier; and

(3) indicating the relationship of that person to the voter.

(c) A certificate in substantially the following form must be printed on the reverse side of the official carrier envelope in a manner that requires the voter to sign across the flap of the envelope:

"I certify that the enclosed ballot expresses my wishes independent of any dictation or undue persuasion by any person.

________________________________

Signature of voter

By: ____________________________

Signature of person assisting

voter, if applicable (see Ballot

Envelope for restrictions and

penalties)

_______________________________

Printed name of person assisting

voter, if applicable

_______________________________

Residence address of person

assisting voter, if applicable"

(d) The following textual material, as prescribed by the secretary of state, must be printed on the reverse side of the official carrier envelope or on a separate sheet accompanying the carrier envelope when it is provided:

(1) the prohibition prescribed by Section 86.006(b);

(2) the conditions for delivery by common or contract carrier prescribed by Sections 81.005 and 86.006;

(3) the requirements for the legal execution and delivery of the carrier envelope, including the prohibition on compensation for depositing carrier envelopes containing ballots voted by other persons under Section 86.0052;

(4) the prohibition prescribed by Section 86.006(e); and

(5) the offenses prescribed by Sections 86.006(f) and 86.010(f).

(e) The following notice must be printed on the reverse side of the official carrier envelope, near the space provided for the voter's signature: "This envelope must be sealed by the voter before it leaves the voter's hands. Do not sign this envelope unless the ballot has been marked by you or at your direction."

(f) The oath of a person assisting a voter must be included on the official carrier envelope as part of the certificate prescribed by Subsection (c).

(g) The secretary of state by rule shall require that a notice informing voters of the telephone number established under Section 31.0055 and the purpose of the telephone number be printed on:

(1) the official carrier envelope; or

(2) an insert enclosed with the balloting materials for voting by mail sent to the voter.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 203, Sec. 1.20; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 554, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1381, Sec. 17, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 393, Sec. 16, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 846 (H.B. 148), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2013.

Acts 2021, 87th Leg., 2nd C.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 1), Sec. 6.07, eff. December 2, 2021.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1992–2025 · leading case: Alvarez v. Espinoza, 844 S.W.2d 238 (Tex. App. 1992).
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Alvarez v. Espinoza, 844 S.W.2d 238 (Tex. App. 1992). “Tex.Elec.Code Ann. § 86.013 (Vernon Supp.”
Jones v. Morales, 318 S.W.3d 419 (Tex. App. 2010). “Tex. Elec.Code Ann. § 86.013(c) (Vernon 2010).”
Un del Pueblo Entero v. Nelson (5th Cir. 2025). · cites it 3× “07 (codified at Tex. Elec. Code § 86.013) (the requirement to design the carrier envelopes to include space to write such information).”
Dale Roush, Individually & as Tr. of the Dale Roush Assets Trust v. Metro. Life Ins. Co. & Joel Hart (Tex. Crim. App. 2018). “individuals a voter may not select to assist the voter in Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 86.013 (c) (2010).”
George Richardson v. Texas Sec'y of State (W.D. Tex. 2020). “6; Tex. Elec. Code § 86.013(c). This is important because, as noted above, voters often sign documents “more carefully” when they believe it is necessary to do so.”
Tex. Elec. Code § 86.013(b): 1 case
Un del Pueblo Entero v. Nelson (5th Cir. 2025). “07 (codified at Tex. Elec. Code § 86.013) (the requirement to design the carrier envelopes to include space to write such information).”
Tex. Elec. Code § 86.013(c): 2 cases
Jones v. Morales, 318 S.W.3d 419 (Tex. App. 2010). “Tex. Elec.Code Ann. § 86.013(c) (Vernon 2010).”
George Richardson v. Texas Sec'y of State (W.D. Tex. 2020). “6; Tex. Elec. Code § 86.013(c). This is important because, as noted above, voters often sign documents “more carefully” when they believe it is necessary to do so.”
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