• September 23, 2013

NOVEMBER CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ELECTION: IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU VOTE

NOVEMBER CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ELECTION: IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU VOTE

150 150 Elect Todd Hunter

The November constitutional amendment election is just around the corner. This year, the first Tuesday of November falls on November 5, 2013 (Election Day). This year you will have the opportunity to vote on the state’s newly proposed constitutional amendments. Before you can vote on Election Day, it is important to make sure you have everything in place. Over the next few weeks, I will be analyzing the proposed constitutional amendments.

One of the most important things that you need to remember to do in order to vote this year is to register. According to the Texas Secretary of State, in Texas you are required to register thirty days before Election Day and that makes this year’s deadline to register October 7, 2013. You are eligible to register to vote if:
• You are a United States citizen;
• You are a resident of the county where you submit the application;
• You are at least 18 years old on Election day;
• You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); and
• You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
If you need to register to vote or need to check on your voter registration you can go to votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/ for additional information or help or contact the Texas Secretary of State’s office at (512) 463-5650.
Recently, the Texas Secretary of State announced the use of photo identification for this year’s Election Day. According to the Texas Secretary of State, acceptable forms of voter identification are as follows:
• Texas driver license – unexpired or expired less than 60 days at the time of voting
• Texas personal identification card – unexpired or expired less than 60 days at the time of voting
• U.S. passport book or card – unexpired or expired less than 60 days at the time of voting
• Texas concealed handgun license – unexpired or expired less than 60 days at the time of voting
• U.S. Military identification with photo – unexpired or expired less than 60 days at the time of voting
• U.S. Citizenship Certificate or Certificate of Naturalization with photo
• Election Identification Certificates – unexpired or expired less than 60 days at the time of voting
Election Identification Certificates are available at no fee only for those that do not have another form of photo identification.
In order to facilitate those individuals needing to obtain an Election Identification Certificate, the Texas Department of Public Safety has announced that they will be offering Saturday hours at nearly 50 driver license offices across the State of Texas. The select offices will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m – 2 p.m. beginning on September 14, 2013 and going through November 2, 2013. It is important to remember that no other transactions will be conducted during these Saturday business hours. For a list of the driver license offices that will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m you can go to Drivers License Division.
If you would like additional information see Voting in Texas.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).

– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32

Rep. Hunter represents Nueces (Part). He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.