The Texas Secretary of State’s office has kicked off a voter education campaign. It’s part of an effort to tell residents about the state’s revised voter ID standards ahead of the November elections.
Secretary of State Carlos Cascos is touring high school and college campuses across Texas to explain the revised ID requirements. He’s also producing public service messages for broadcast and social media.
Cascos says that, as part of the campaign, he’s making an effort to reach out to non-English speakers. “I also taped some radio and TV spots in Spanish,” he says. My Spanish is fairly good at times. So we’re doing both the English and the Spanish version. The ads are going to be very, very similar. I don’t know the details of which stations are going to be airing it, but it’ll be the large media areas throughout the state.”
Under the revised standard, voters unable to obtain a photo ID in time to vote can sign an affidavit to that effect. They can then use alternative documentation that includes their name and current address, such as a utility bill or a bank statement.
Texas negotiated the new requirements with the U.S. Justice Department, after the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state’s voter ID law discriminated against minority voters.
The deadline to register in time for Election Day is October 11.