Today is the last day to register to vote in the July primary runoff election.
Early voting is from June 29 through July 10, twice as long as normal because of the coronavirus pandemic. If you intend to vote by mail, your application for a ballot must be received by July 2.
The date for voting changed due to the pandemic, and Gov. Greg Abbott pushed the original runoff date from May 26 to July 14.
Change.org has a petition running for Texas to join the 39 states that have already passed legislation on online voter registration. One of the arguments is that the current process of registration involves paper forms to mail in, and for those who don’t have access to a printer this is less feasible.
The petition states, “This limited means of registering to vote restricts Texans who currently do not have access to printers and results in unnecessary exposure to COVID-19. Additionally, due to COVID-19, all in-person voter registration efforts are gone. Not giving Texans the opportunity to register online is outdated and wrong.”
The registration process is outdated, the petition says, and so is legislation.
“Approximately 24% of the voting-eligible population in the United States are not registered to vote. The most recent voter registration act was passed 27 years ago in 1993, far before the widespread use of technology. Thus, it is imperative for the people to demand state representatives to pass legislation on voting registration.”The petition refers to the Pew Charitable Trusts’ research to explain the benefits, including that “online voter registration saves taxpayer dollars, increases the accuracy of voter rolls, and provides a convenient way to register or update their information.”
