CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As summer ends and we get set for the beginning of fall, more and more attention will be given to the upcoming election in November.
In August, Governor Greg Abbott announced that more than 1 million people have been removed from Texas voter rolls since 2021.
So, is there any chance that you were one of them?
There are a number of reasons why a voter may be deemed ineligible in Texas, including death, a felony conviction or a move out of state. It has been a part of routine voter roll maintenance here for decades, in keeping with both federal and state law.
There are also those who are removed for being noncitizens, something that political reporter Jason Whitely says has been mishandled by the state in the past.
"There is some concern over 6,500 noncitizens who were taken off of the voter rolls in the state," Whitely said. "The last time Texas tried to take 'noncitizens' off the voter rolls, they discovered a mistake, that many of those noncitizens are, in fact, naturalized citizens and have every right to go to the polls, like the rest of us do."
With the deadline to register to vote in this year’s election coming up, it may be a good idea to make sure that your registration status has not changed.
To do so, just go to the Texas Secretary of State’s website and enter your Texas Driver’s License number and date of birth.
If you do not have a license, then type in your name, date of birth and the county in which you live.
Once confirmed, you will also find a list of polling locations.
If you have recently moved or changed your name, you may find that your voter registration is in "suspense." You can usually fix that by either updating your information online at the same website or filling out a “statement of residence” when you show up to vote.
Keep in mind that Texas is one of less than a dozen states that does not offer online voter registration. While you can go online or call the county registrar’s office to request an application, the form must be submitted by mail.
The deadline to register is Oct. 7.