Gearing up for Election Day

Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, and millions of Texans will be casting their ballots for not only the next president of the United States, but also choosing who will be representing Texas for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.  There are several other races for state office, including Railroad Commissioner, state senators and representatives, members of the State Board of Education, the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Texas Court of Appeals.  Additionally, voters will be voting on several local county, city and school district races, depending on which county they reside in.

The non-partisan League of Women Voters -Hill Country has voter Guides available at www.lwvhillcountrytexas.org.  Sample ballots are available on each county’s website.

Under Texas law, voters are required to bring identification with them to vote.

~ Texas Driver License (TDL)

~ Texas Election Identification Certificate

~ Texas Personal Identification Card

~ Texas Handgun License

~ U.S. Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph

~ U.S. Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph

~ U.S. Passport

Under Texas law, you cannot use most wireless communication devices within 100 feet of a voting stations, nor are you allowed to record sound or images in that space.  Those restricted electronics include:

~ Cellphones

~ Cameras

~ Tablet Computers

~ Laptop Computers

~ Sound recorders

~ Any other devices that may communicate wirelessly, or be used to record sound or images.

You are also not allowed to wear clothing, hats, flags, etc. that relates to a candidate currently on the ballot within 100 feet of the voting station.

If you’ve sent in your completed ballot, you can track the status of it on the Secretary of State’s website to see if it has been received and counted.  To check the status of your ballot, you must enter your name, date of birth, the last four digits of your social security number and your driver’s license or Department of Public Safety ID number.

More than 18.6 million Texans are currently registered to vote, according to the Secretary of State’s office.  So far, 9,060,035 votes have been cast, for a statewide turnout of 48.65%.  In the 2020 presidential election, 66.73% of registered voters in Texas cast a ballot, up from 59.39% in the 2016 election.