AUSTIN — Texas Secretary of State John Scott today released the first installment of ‘SOS 101,’ a series of videos educating voters about election administration in Texas ahead of the November 8, 2022 General Election. In the first SOS 101 video, Secretary Scott provides an overview of the voter registration process in Texas, including how eligible Texans can register to vote, how county voter registrars process voter registration applications, and how voter rolls in each of Texas’ 254 counties are maintained for accuracy. Secretary Scott also visits with Brazos County Elections Administrator Trudy Hancock to discuss voter registration in her county.
“Today, you’ll be learning about one of your most important civic duties as a Texas voter – registering to vote,” Secretary Scott says in the video.
“Whether you’re registering to vote for the first time or need to update your information on your record, make sure and visit VoteTexas.gov and select ‘Voter Registration’ to learn everything you need to know about voter registration in Texas.”
“Brazos County is up to 123,000 voters,” Elections Administrator Trudy Hancock explains in the video.
“Right now, we’re having Volunteer Deputy Registrars come in dropping off new applications. We’re a college town, we have over 70,000 students here, so they’re working hard at the campus to get those young folks registered.”
Hancock joined Secretary Scott in reminding eligible Texas voters that the deadline to register for the November 8, 2022 General Election is Tuesday, October 11.
SOS 101: Voter Registration in Texas covers the following key topics:
1. Eligibility Requirements
In Texas, you are eligible to register to vote as long as you are:
- A United States citizen;
- A resident of the county where you submit your voter registration application;
- At least 18 years old on Election Day.
- Not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); and
- Not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
2. Completing Your Application
If you’re a new voter in Texas, you have several options when registering to vote, including:
- Registering to vote when obtaining a Texas Driver License or Texas ID card at the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS);
- Registering to vote online when renewing, replacing or updating your Texas Driver License or Texas ID card; or
- Complete, sign and send a voter registration application to your county voter registrar.
If you are already registered to vote and simply need to update information on your voter registration record – such as your address, name or identification number(s) – you can do so online at Texas.gov.
Remember to make sure your voter registration application is postmarked by Tuesday, October 11th to vote in the November 8th General Election.
3. How Your County Voter Registrar Processes Your Application
When your county voter registrar receives your voter registration application, the registrar will enter your information into the statewide voter registration database – the Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM) system. Some Texas counties choose to use their own third-party vendors that are responsible for communicating with the TEAM system to ensure all voter registration information is updated in a timely manner.
Once the registration information is entered in TEAM, it goes through a process called ‘Live Check’ – which verifies the Driver License, ID and/or partial Social Security number (last 4 digits) on your registration application with DPS and the Social Security Administration.
Once your registration passes the Live Check process, you should receive your voter registration certificate from your county voter registrar in the mail within 30 days.
If you don’t receive your voter registration certificate in the mail in time to vote – don’t worry, you can still vote! You aren’t required to show your registration certificate to vote in person – just be sure to bring one of 7 approved forms of photo ID for voting, and know what forms of ID you can bring if you don’t possess and can’t reasonably obtain one.
4. Verify Your Voter Registration Status
Once you’ve submitted your voter registration application, you can visit www.votetexas.gov and click on ‘Am I Registered?‘ to check your registration status.
Through the My Voter Portal, you can:
- Check your voter registration status;
- View a list of Election Day and Early Voting poll locations;
- View your registration information, including your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID);
- Start a new voter registration application;
- Update your registration information; or
- Track your ballot by mail, if you are eligible to vote by mail
5. Voter List Maintenance
The Texas Secretary of State’s office follows state and federal law in ensuring the voter rolls in each of Texas’ 254 counties stay up-to-date and accurate, and that ineligible voters are removed from the rolls.
For example, an average of between 10-15 thousand deceased voter registration records are removed from the voter rolls statewide each month in Texas. Texas counties report monthly cancellation numbers to our office, which show how many registrations were cancelled, and for what reason.
Because Texans move often, tens of thousands of duplicate registrations are cancelled each month. This ensures that no person is registered at more than one address, in more than one county, or in more than one state.
Voter registrations can also be cancelled when a voter is found to be:
- Serving time for a felony conviction;
- A non-U.S. citizen; or
- Declared mentally incompetent.
For more information on voter registration in Texas, visit www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote.
