Tuesday is voter registration deadline in Lubbock, across Texas
Tuesday, Oct. 11, is the last day to register to vote in Lubbock County and across Texas ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
The election features races for governor and lieutenant governor as well as a variety of statewide and local races and ballot items. In the city of Lubbock, voters are also being asked to consider a $200 million street and road improvement bond package.
In Lubbock County, eligible voters can make sure they're registered to vote by going to the county's website, votelubbock.org or going to the Elections Office at 13th Street and Crickets Avenue. Prospective voters have until Those needing to update their address or other information should also do so with the elections office by Tuesday.
To be eligible to register to vote in Texas you must:
Be a United States Citizen
Be a resident of the county where you submit the application
Be 18 years old (you may register at 17 years and 10 months)
Not be a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation and parole)
Not be declared mentally incapacitated by a court of law
How to register to vote
Voter registration applications are available at your county elections office, driver license office, public libraries, post offices, public assistance agencies, and some government offices.
Completed applications must be returned to the Lubbock County Elections Office in person, or postmarked, by the 30th day before any election in which you desire to vote.
Informal online application
You may fill out a Texas Voter Registration Application online, print it and mail it to the voter registrar in your county of residence. You are not registered until you have filled out the online application, printed it and mailed it to your local County Voter Registrar. The County Voter Registrar’s address can be found at the top of the printed voter registration application once you have submitted your information online.
As of Saturday, 186,861 people were registered to vote in Lubbock County, according to the elections office.
Other key dates and deadlines include:
Early Voting: Monday, Oct. 24 through Friday, Nov. 4Last Day to Apply for Ballot by Mail (Received, not Postmarked): Friday, Oct. 28Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 8
Paper-based voting system
The Lubbock County Elections Office is also reminding voters that casting a ballot during the upcoming midterm elections in November will look a little different this time.
Roxzine Stinson, Lubbock County's elections administrator, told the Avalanche-Journal in August that voting will still be done on electronic kiosks; however, a piece of paper will be printed off and needs to be fed into a scanner as part of a state-mandated effort to have a paper backup for voting.
"(If) you walk out that door with your piece of paper, you took vote with you," Stinson said. "You have to cast your vote in the precinct scanner."
The new paper-based system was implemented after Texas lawmakers last year passed a law requiring counties to have a paper method for voting - a move that supporters said aimed to prevent voter fraud.
Lubbock County Commissioners voted in January to spend about $4.1 million to acquire the new system, the Avalanche-Journal reported at the time.
Lubbock County adds paper backup to voting system
The paper-based system, Stinson said, leaves a paper trail that allows the elections office to conduct comprehensive audits. The added step will only add a few seconds to the whole process, she said.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tuesday is voter registration deadline in Lubbock, across Texas
