Surrendered & Cancelled BBMs

election day. Early voting clerks should arrange to check their mail at 7 p.m. to ensure that any ballots received are appropriately processed on election night. These ballots will be included in any results that are released on election night.320 Late ballots fall into one of three categories:

1. Ballots received by 5 p.m. on the next business day after election day with a postmark of 7 p.m. on election day or before, if sent by a civilian or military voter using an ABBM and voting within the United States. If there is no postmark, then it cannot be counted.321

2. Ballots received by the 5th day after election day from an overseas civilian voter (ABBM or federal post card application) or a military voter (using an ABBM and voting from overseas) with a postmark of 7 p.m. on election day or before. If there is no postmark, then it cannot be counted.322

3. Ballots received by the 6th day after election day from a military voter using a federal post card application. No postmark is necessary. The voter can be domestic or overseas.323

A qualified voter who applied for a BBM may surrender or submit a request to cancel their ballot to an election officer.324 A voter can cancel a BBM in the following manners:325

1) The voter can fill out a Request to Cancel Ballot form at the Early Voting Clerk’s office indicating:

• they did not receive their mail ballot;

• they never applied for a mail ballot;

• they received a notice of carrier defect and want to cancel their application to vote by mail;

• they want their ballot to be cancelled; or

320 Keith Ingram, Processing and Counting Early Voting by Mail Ballots, Election Advisory No. 2020-20, (July. 2, 2020) https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/advisory2020-20.shtml. 321 Tex. Elec. Code § 86.007 (a). 322 Tex. Elec. Code § 86.007 (d). 323 Tex. Elec. Code § 101.057. 324 Tex. Elec. Code § 84.032. 325 See Tex. Elec. Code §§ 84.032; 84.038.