Texas elections officials have a big task ahead of them. After a federal court , Texas now has to explain its tweaks to the law ahead of Election Day in November.
Getting Texans on the same page about changes to a law that鈥檚 only a few years old anyway is not easy. The state鈥檚 voter ID law was one of the strictest in the country. It allowed voters to use some photo IDs at the polls, while prohibiting others, and . State election officials say those outreach efforts will focus on those most affected by the law.
鈥淲e are putting a special emphasis on focusing on those voters -- making sure they get the information they need,鈥� says Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson with the Texas Secretary of State鈥檚 office. 鈥淎nd so that鈥檚 going to include television ads, radio ads, lots of social media, but also reaching out to community groups who interface with Texas citizens everyday.鈥�
Pierce says the changes will have the most impact on people who don鈥檛 have the kind of IDs they were required to have. Now the law allows some wiggle room. You can present alternative forms of identification and sign an affidavit saying you had a reasonable impediment to getting a Texas photo ID. Pierce says the state now has to make sure county election officials make that clear to voters, as well.
鈥淐ounties are looking to us, our office, to make sure they have the authoritative information that they need. We are updating all the materials for the counties 鈥� the training procedures, etc. 鈥� to makes sure they are aware of this change,鈥� she says.
For example, in Travis County, County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir says that means getting the word out to people whom probably haven鈥檛 voted in Texas before.
鈥淲hat we are going to be doing is talking to students and brand new voters who maybe just got to Texas,鈥� DeBeauvoir says. 鈥淎nd as many groups of people who will need a little extra help understanding the new law as we can find.
DeBeauvoir says ultimately the new rules are going to be helpful to a lot of voters here. She says there were many people who found it difficult to vote during the last few big elections. DeBeauvoir says loosening the state鈥檚 law will make things a little easier at the polls this November.
鈥淸T]hat鈥檚 going to be very helpful -- especially for folks who are older or who maybe don鈥檛 have a drivers鈥� license,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat was our biggest population who ran into difficulty.鈥�
DeBeauvoir says the county will step up its voter outreach efforts once the state鈥檚 voter registration period closes on Oct.11.
Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit . 9(MDAxODQzOTgwMDEyMTcyNjI4MTAxYWQyMw004))
