Texas Secretary of State John Steen visited Bowie County Elections Administrator George Stegall this morning. Steen, who was appointed earlier this year by governor Rick Perry, updated Stegall’s office on the latest requirements of the Voter ID Law.
Acceptable identification to vote in Texas elections include the following:
- Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
- Texas concealed handgun license issued by DPS
- United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph
- United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States passport
According to Stegall, about 1% of Texas voters don’t have an acceptable photo ID; in Bowie County, that works out to about 5500 people. He says the actual number affected is even smaller, since many of those are senior citizens who typically vote by mail. For the rest, it won’t be difficult to obtain either a state ID card or a special Election Identification Certificate (Voter ID card).
While TX ID cards are $6 and are valid for four years, EICs cost nothing and are valid for 6 years. Stegall says there are special DPS units traveling to neighborhoods in larger cities to help provide EICs, but he knows of no such plans for Bowie County. However, he anticipates volunteers from local political and civic groups will assist people in obtaining a photo ID.
For more information on obtaining a Voter ID (EIC), please contact the Bowie County Elections Administration office at the New Boston Courthouse – 903-628-6810.