Are you prepared to make a decision about our future on March 3rd? Monday, February 3, 2020 is the deadline to register to vote in the March 3rd primary! That means your application must be received or postmarked. If you’re not registered, it’s easy to do. The information below is taken directly from votetexas.gov, an excellent resource for all things voting.
Find Out if You’re Already Registered to Vote
Can’t remember if you’ve registered in the past? Please feel free to use our Am I Registered? Website that not only confirms whether you are registered or not, but will even allow you to search for your polling place location prior to an election. The service is easy to use. All you need is a Texas Driver’s license to get started. If you know that you have not registered to vote then please use the Informal Online Application service which is displayed below.
Where to Get an Application
You can register in person at your county Voter Registrar’s office. (In most Texas counties, the Tax Assessor-Collector is also the Voter Registrar. In some counties, the County Clerk or Elections Administrator registers voters.) Or you can register by mail by obtaining an application from your county Voter Registrar’s office or pick up applications at libraries, government offices, or high schools.
Get an Informal Online Application
You may fill out a voter registration application online, print it, sign it, and mail it to the voter registrar in your county of residence. You are not registered until you have filled out the online application, printed it, signed it, and mailed it to your local County Voter Registrar. Your County’s Voter Registrar will then process your application, and your registration becomes effective 30 days after it is submitted (and accepted) by the County Voter Registrar. The County Voter Registrar’s address can be found at the top of the online outputted voter registration application once you have submitted your information from the fill-in-the blanks screen.
You can search for exactly what’s on the ballot for your county here, but the highlights for North Texans are below. You can learn more in this January 27, 2020 Dallas Morning News article.
Democratic and Republican nominees for President - Trump is currently up against six challengers, and there are currently 14 contenders in the democratic field
Nominees for U.S. Senator - Currently held by John Cornyn, who is projected to again be the Republican nominee
Three seats for the U.S. House
Seven seats for the Texas House
Registering to vote is just the first step in making sure your voice is heard. While voter registration is on the rise, Texans could be a lot better about getting to the polls. Dallas county leads North Texas with about 1.3 million registered voters, but Collin County residents were more likely to show up to the polls, with 10.71% of registered voters casting a ballot in 2019. None of the four North Texas counties with the most registered voters – Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant – beat the state’s 12% turnout. These figures are dismal, but it should be noted that 2019 was a constitutional amendment year. Turnout is much higher for midterm and presidential elections but still tops out at 59% of registered voters (Samuels & Adeline, Texas Tribune, 2019).
59. %. of. REGISTERED.VOTERS. Not even 59% of the population. Less than half of us are showing up to vote for the leaders of our country, and less than 10% of us are voting on laws that impact us on a daily basis. We can do better, Texas. It’s time to get out, get in line, and vote for what matters to you. Make a decision about our future. Tell our leaders what you want. They work for us! Want things to change? VOTE! Want things to stay the same? VOTE! Pat Mitchell said, “If we don’t vote, we’re ignoring the past and giving away our future.” Let’s not give away our future.
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