As the election inches closer and closer, so do deadlines for voting registration and mail-in ballots.
Those who are already registered to vote in Wichita County should go to the “My Voter Portal” on the Texas Secretary of State’s website and make sure they are still eligible and registered to vote.
After that, it is as simple as finding a polling place and voting. Early voting starts on Monday, Oct. 21, and ends Friday, Nov. 1.
Those who are not registered in Wichita County, but are registered elsewhere have different options.
Absentee Ballot
The first option is to apply for an absentee ballot in the county you are registered in. The Texas Secretary of State website has a step-by-step process on how to apply.
The application for a mail-in ballot must be received by Friday, Oct. 25.
If you plan on voting by mail, your mail-in ballot has to be postmarked by Election Day, otherwise it will not be counted.
Due to the amount of people applying for mail-in ballots and voting by mail, the sooner the application is mailed in, the better.
Register for In-Person Voting
The second option students registered to vote in Texas have is to change their voting county to Wichita County and vote in-person.
To register, students should log in to the state voter portal and click “change your address.” This will take them to the website where they can change their address to their Wichita Falls address.
Out-of-state students and students who are not registered to vote at all must register on paper.
Students can either go online and fill out their application, print it and then send it by mail or they can go to the Wichita County Courthouse and get registered an election clerk.
The last day to register in time for the presidential election in Wichita County is Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. This means that applications need to be on the county election clerk’s desk by Oct. 7.
Voting in-Person
Students voting in person will need a valid form of identification. These include:
- A state driver’s license (issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety)
- A Texas election identification certificate (issued by DPS)
- A Texas personal identification card (issued by DPS)
- A Texas license to carry a handgun (issued by DPS)
- A U.S. military ID card with a personal photo
- A U.S. citizenship certificate with a personal photo
- A U.S. passport
If the address the student is registered under does not match the address they are currently living at, poll workers may ask for another form of identification so that they can change it to the correct address. These include:
- Valid voter registration certificate
- Certified birth certificate
- Copy or original of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other document that shows the voter’s name and address (any government document that contains a voter’s photo must be an original)
Students who do not have one of these six forms of identification, and cannot get one of the six identifications before the election, can still vote by filling out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration.”
This declaration swears that the student has a reasonable impediment that is stopping them from having a valid form of identification.
The student must bring this declaration as well as one of the former forms of identification.
Where to vote
The city of Wichita Falls has already published the locations of all early voting and election day polling places.
For early voting, the closest polling place to campus is at the Sikes Senter Mall, which will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For other locations and early voting dates, please visit the city of Wichita Falls’s website.
As for election day, there will be a polling place at Sikes Lake Center open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Midwestern State University is hosting a voter registration drive on Sept. 17 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Clark Student Center.
