By Jessica Domel
News Editor
The future is in your hands, but only if you’ve registered to participate in the process.
The deadline for Texans to register for the Nov. 8 General Election is Tuesday, Oct. 11.
“Your vote counts,” Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos told a room full of students at the University of Texas, according to Community Impact.
Cascos is traveling the state encouraging Texans young and old alike to weigh in on who will represent us locally, statewide and in Washington, D.C.
“A lot of people believe that their vote doesn’t count. I can tell you personally that every vote does count,” Cascos said.
Community Impact reports he was referring to his 2010 Cameron County judge race, which he won by 69 votes.
Cascos encouraged students to get to know the candidates and voice their opinions—even if it means casting a blank ballot. He told the group perhaps a blank ballot, too, could send a message.
Voters nationwide are tasked with choosing between democrats Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, republicans Donald Trump and Mike Pence, libertarians Gary Johnson and Bill Weld and green party candidates Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka for the presidency and vice presidency, respectively.
Voters in Texas will decide the fates of 36 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sixteen of the 31 state senators will appear on ballots this month, while all 150 seats in the Texas House are up for election.
State and local judges and railroad commissioners will also be considered by voters.
Potential voters must be registered to cast a ballot.
To register to vote, you must meet the following requirements: be a United States Citizen, be a resident of the county where you submit the application, be at least 18 years old on Election Day, not be a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation and parole) and 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.
Applications to register are available on VoteTexas.gov and at local election offices.
Texans can determine whether or not they’ve already registered on the website as well.
Early voting for the November General Election runs Monday, Oct. 24 through Friday, Nov. 4. Polling times and locations vary by county and are available on the Vote Texas website.
Cascos is also encouraging voters to be mindful of what they take with them to polling locations because voters are now required to have an approved form of photo identification.
Accepted IDs include: a Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, a Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS, a Texas personal ID card issued by DPS, a U.S. military ID card with the person’s photo, a U.S. citizenship certificate with the person’s photo or a U.S. passport.
With the exception of the U.S. citizenship certificate, the ID must be current or have expired no more than four years prior to the election.
If a potential voter does not have one of the approved forms of ID, and has a difficulty receiving one, a list of other acceptable IDs is listed in VoteTexas.gov.