Thousands line up in Travis County to register to vote
AUSTIN, Texas - Election Day is less than a month away, and Monday, Oct. 7 is the last day to register to vote in Texas.
"We've had a lot of procrastinators today waiting till the last day to register and update their address. And that's fine. We're here for them. We want to make sure that people check to see if they're registered at their current address, because if they're not, today is the day to get that updated," said Bruce Elfant, Travis County voter registrar.
Elfant says as of Monday afternoon, the county has 920,000 voters registered. About 10,000 of them have been added in the last month.
"The growth in Travis County has slowed in previous cycles. We were a rapidly growing community, and we were chasing new residents. And now that our population is stabilized, we probably won't register quite as many people," said Elfant.
It takes minutes to register to vote. You need to be 18, a citizen and a resident.
To fill out the application, you'll need either a Texas driver's license or the last four digits of your social security number.
This year, Elfant says Travis County volunteer deputy registrars agreed to set up voter registration drives at post office locations across the county until midnight Monday, of the voter registration deadline. But at the last minute, that postal service approval was rescinded.
"It's very disappointing that the post office pulled out of our agreement," Elfant said.
FOX 7 Austin reached out to the post office to learn about why it changed its mind but hasn’t heard back.
Registration drives at the post office are an attempt to minimize late voter registration.
"It's been a big problem in years past. The last presidential cycle, we probably had close to 2,000 people who probably registered and mailed their application on time, but they didn't get a timely postmark," said Elfant.
MORE STORIES:
Driving around Austin, you may have noticed campaigning signs from each party, but there have also been numerous political signs defaced ahead of the election.
A Donald Trump sign in the Jollyville neighborhood in Austin and a Harris-Walz sign in downtown Austin were both found defaced.
"That’s no good. You know, campaigning is part of the process. And we want every candidate and every voice to be heard and to deface people's placards or to deface their speech is no good. We want to hear from everybody, and we want to make informed choices," said Elfant.
Despite the news, he encourages everyone to take the first step in getting registered to vote.
"Now it's time to read up on the ballot propositions and the candidates and get out there and make your voice heard," said Elfant.
Here’s a list of the registration locations open until midnight:
- 8 a.m. to midnight at Travis County North Campus:Travis County, 5501 Airport Blvd., Austin, TX 78751
- Travis County, 5501 Airport Blvd., Austin, TX 78751
- 4 p.m. to midnight at Radio Coffee and The Front Page:Radio Coffee & Beer, 4204 Menchaca Rd., Austin, TX 78704Radio Coffee East, 3504 Montopolis Dr., Austin, TX 78744The Front Page, 1023 Springdale Rd., Building 1, Austin, TX 78721
- Radio Coffee & Beer, 4204 Menchaca Rd., Austin, TX 78704
- Radio Coffee East, 3504 Montopolis Dr., Austin, TX 78744
- The Front Page, 1023 Springdale Rd., Building 1, Austin, TX 78721