Election day is approaching quickly and that means it's time to make sure you have everything in order to cast your vote in the state of Texas.
Register to vote
First things first, you can not vote in Texas if you're not registered. Eligible voters must be 17 years and 10 months of age on the day they apply, a U.S. citizen and a resident of the county where they're submitting their application.
To find out if you are already registered, click here.
If you're not registered to vote, you can pick up an application at your Voter Registrar's Office. According to Vote Texas, often times the Registrar's office will be the Tax Assessor-Collector. In some counties, the county clerk and Elections Administrator provide registration forms. Go here to find a county voter registration official near you.
Go here to download the online form. Once filled out, you can turn it into one of your county registrar's offices.
All applications become effective 30 days after they're accepted by the registrar.
Registration card
All applicants should receive their voter registration certificate in the mail 30 days after applying. Officials said it's best to double check that your certificate has all of the correct information on it. If there are errors, applicants are advised to immediately alert their local registrar.
IDs for voting
When you arrive at your nearest polling location on election day, you'll need an identification card to present. For voters aged 18 to 69, the ID can only be expired by four years. For voters over the age of 70, expiration dates don't matter if the ID is legible.
There are seven acceptable forms of photo ID a voter can bring to a polling location:
- Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
- United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States Passport (book or card)
If a voter does not possess any acceptable forms of photo identification, the following supporting documentation can be shown:
- Valid Voter Registration Certificate
- Certified Birth Certificate (must be an original)
- Copy of or original current utility bill
- Copy of or original bank statement
- Copy of or original government check
- Copy of or original paycheck
- Copy of or original government document with your name and an address (original required if it contains a photograph)
Afterward, the person with one of the above pieces of supplemental identification will have to complete a Reasonable Impediment Declaration, explaining why it wasn't possible to obtain a photo ID before election day.
In order to vote in the midterm elections on Nov. 6, hopeful voters must register to vote by Oct. 9, 2018.