Absentee Voting & Jury Duty
Another aspect of full timing and picking a domicile is voting and jury duty. We picked Texas as our domicile because of its central location in the United States, and that the Escapees headquarters is in Livingston, Texas, Polk County. During our first years of full timing, our legal address was through the Escapees. Escapees has done business with Polk County for so long that they understand full time RVers. When we got a jury notice, all we did was call up Polk County, tell them we are Escapees members and they just say, "Thank you, I'll take you off the list. Please let us know when you are in the area." Sometimes they even guess that we are Escapees members since they have dealt with Escapees for so long.
As for absentee voting, it's really easy as well. Now, you have to understand that all my information is just for Texas residents. Allow yourself about six weeks for the whole process so you can get the ballot back to the Early Voting Clerk by Election Day.
1) The first step is to go to the Texas Secretary of State site to request an application for a ballot by mail. I always pick no. 2 ~ submit an order online. When you click that link, you get another page that says "Request an Application for a Ballot by Mail." Here you put in your name and the address where you want the application sent to. You can have it sent to your mailing address or to your current location. Realize, this is just a request for an Application for Ballot by Mail - not your actual ballot. Allow about at least one week to get the application.
2) The application comes in a large envelope from the Office of the Texas Secretary of State in Austin. There are instructions on the reverse side of your application telling you how to fill it out. You have to be 65 years of age or disabled, in jail, or absent from the county in order to vote by absentee ballot. If you pick "absent from the county," your application must be mailed to an address outside of your residence county. This is what we usually picked as we were hardly ever in Polk County.
Another aspect of full timing and picking a domicile is voting and jury duty. We picked Texas as our domicile because of its central location in the United States, and that the Escapees headquarters is in Livingston, Texas, Polk County. During our first years of full timing, our legal address was through the Escapees. Escapees has done business with Polk County for so long that they understand full time RVers. When we got a jury notice, all we did was call up Polk County, tell them we are Escapees members and they just say, "Thank you, I'll take you off the list. Please let us know when you are in the area." Sometimes they even guess that we are Escapees members since they have dealt with Escapees for so long.
As for absentee voting, it's really easy as well. Now, you have to understand that all my information is just for Texas residents. Allow yourself about six weeks for the whole process so you can get the ballot back to the Early Voting Clerk by Election Day.
1) The first step is to go to the Texas Secretary of State site to request an application for a ballot by mail. I always pick no. 2 ~ submit an order online. When you click that link, you get another page that says "Request an Application for a Ballot by Mail." Here you put in your name and the address where you want the application sent to. You can have it sent to your mailing address or to your current location. Realize, this is just a request for an Application for Ballot by Mail - not your actual ballot. Allow about at least one week to get the application.
2) The application comes in a large envelope from the Office of the Texas Secretary of State in Austin. There are instructions on the reverse side of your application telling you how to fill it out. You have to be 65 years of age or disabled, in jail, or absent from the county in order to vote by absentee ballot. If you pick "absent from the county," your application must be mailed to an address outside of your residence county. This is what we usually picked as we were hardly ever in Polk County.
3) Filling out the Application is really not that hard. No. 1-2 is where you fill in your Residence Address, i.e., your Escapees mailing address. No. 3 is where you want your ballot mailed to. No. 5 is your reason for voting by mail (we check expected absence from the county). Then fill in No. 6b and No. 8. I have always been at a loss as to how to fill in No. 8 since we are not ever going to be back at that address, so I just make up some date and fill it in. Don't forget to sign and date it. You must send your application back to the Early Voting Clerk. If you are using Escapees as your mailing address, you are a resident of Polk County. The address for the Early Voting Clerk is: Polk County Courthouse, 101 W. Church St., P.O. Drawer 2119, Livingston, TX 77351.
4) You should get your actual ballot in the mail in about two to three weeks, depending on how busy they are. Depending on where you are in the country, give the Post Office at least one week or more to get the ballot in the mail and back to the Early Voting Clerk before Election Day.
A lot of people seem to be confused with the difference between Absentee Voting and "mail in voting." With absentee voting, you have to request a ballot. But with the "mail in voting" someone is sending out ballots arbitrarily to people on the voting list.
In addition, Escapees has a website with information about absentee voting for us full-timers. I have included their website here.
4) You should get your actual ballot in the mail in about two to three weeks, depending on how busy they are. Depending on where you are in the country, give the Post Office at least one week or more to get the ballot in the mail and back to the Early Voting Clerk before Election Day.
A lot of people seem to be confused with the difference between Absentee Voting and "mail in voting." With absentee voting, you have to request a ballot. But with the "mail in voting" someone is sending out ballots arbitrarily to people on the voting list.
In addition, Escapees has a website with information about absentee voting for us full-timers. I have included their website here.