In June, 2013, U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress must update how it enforces the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a direct result of that ruling Texas can no longer rely on a Texas federal Judge ruling that found the Legislature intentionally discriminated against minorities by enforcing the Voter Identification Law. Texans have, in the past, been allowed to vote after showing their voter registration card or state, federal, city and college IDs.
All Texas voters are now required to present an approved form of photo identification in order to vote in all Texas elections.
Acceptable forms of photo ID:
- Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
- Texas concealed handgun license issued by DPS
- United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph
- United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States passport
Except for the U.S. citizenship certificate, the identification must be current or have expired no more than 60 days before being presented at the polling place.
The name on the identification presented must match the name on the list of registered voters. If the name does not match exactly but is “substantially similar” to the name on the list of registered voters, the voter will be permitted to vote as long as the voter signs an affidavit stating that the voter is the same person on the list of registered voters.
If a voter does not have proper identification, the voter will still be permitted to vote provisionally. The voter will have (six) 6 days to present proper identification to the county voter registrar, or the voter’s ballot will be rejected.
REMINDER: Early voting in Texas starts Monday, October 21, 2013.
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