When Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) held a town hall in Gainesville, Texas on June 9th, he accomplished his goal of visiting with voters in all 254 counties as part of his campaign to represent all 28 million Texans. Beto (pronounced BEH-toe) is running a refreshingly different campaign here in Texas as he eschews pollsters, consultants, and donations from PACs, yet still manages to outraise the odious incumbent Republican Senator quarter after quarter.
One crucial step to electing Beto and as many other Texas Democrats as possible is asking every potential Democratic voter we know whether they are registered to vote at their current address. Please don’t assume: ask everyone, regardless of whether they’ve attended one of Beto’s town halls, bought a t-shirt, or volunteered for his campaign. (Much to my dismay, I discovered too late that a young Wendy volunteer was unable to vote in 2014 because she assumed that she was registered to vote when she got her Texas Driver’s License and never followed up.)
The deadline for Texans to be registered to vote is 3 months from today: Tuesday, October 9th.
It is important to know that voter registration in Texas is handled through the county in which one is currently residing. VoteTexas.gov is a useful resource that links to information regarding where to get an application: libraries, government offices, and high schools are all supposed to have applications to distribute to those who ask for them. Note that while we cannot register online in this state, we can download an online application and mail the completed application to our county’s Voter Registrar.
Please read: It is against Texas law for a volunteer to even touch a completed voter registration application unless trained and appointed as a Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar for that potential voter’s county. The training takes approximately 1 hour and is still worth completing, in my opinion, especially if you live in one of the larger counties.
I recommend asking every potential Democratic voter in Texas the following:
- Are you registered to vote at your current address? If they say they aren’t or aren’t sure:
- In person: Hand them a form to complete and mail to their county’s Voter Registrar or, if you have been appointed as a Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar for their county, give them a form to complete and deliver it yourself.
- Online:
- Send them this link from VoteTexas.gov explaining where to get an application
- Send them this link from Register2vote.org so that they can fill out an online form:
The form will be printed and mailed to the voter with a STAMPED, ADDRESSED envelope. They sign the form after checking to make sure all info is correct, then mail it in. It’s that easy.
This is for real. It is legal. It is awesome!
h/t politik
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If they claim to be registered to vote at their current address, then ask, Have you received your voter registration certificate?
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This year’s voter registration certificate is printed on a yellow and white postcard (link to sample), and I show them mine to make sure they know what it looks like.
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If they don’t recall receiving the 2018-2019 voter registration certificate or aren’t sure where theirs is, then encourage them to complete another application. Copies of voter registration certificates are free.
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Let them know that they can also click here to find out whether they’re registered at their current address, and make sure that they’re aware that the deadline to submit their application to register to vote in Texas is 30 days before the election (on October 9th this year because of the Columbus Day holiday).
If you’re out-of-state, please help by sharing this information with any potential Democratic voters you know in Texas.
While in Gainesville, Beto quoted Harry S. Truman, who ended his WhistleStop tour of Texas there almost 70 years ago:
America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.
We can do this! Let’s ensure that every potential Democratic voter in Texas is registered to vote by October 9th.
And please volunteer and donate through BetoforTexas.com