Election Day is quickly approaching. And in Texas, early voting starts on Monday, Oct. 21. If you’re one of the thousands of people who’ve just recently moved to the state, you’ll want to hurry and register — the last day to do so is Oct. 7.
While that deadline is quickly approaching, don’t stress! It’s a relatively easy process for even the newest Texas transplants.
The simplest way to make sure you’re on the voter rolls is to fill out a voter registration card. The form is available on the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You can also do this in person at your county election office. (Find your local office here.)
“On the registration card, a voter will be asked for their Texas driver license or ID card number,” said Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson with the Texas Secretary of State.
But what if you don’t have your shiny, new Texas ID in hand yet? That’s OK!
“If they don't have that, they can provide the last four digits of their Social Security number,” Pierce said.
After you’ve filled out the form, you’ll need to print, sign and mail it to the address listed on the SOS’s site.
Then, when you vote, you’ll have to show one of the seven approved forms of ID. That list includes an Election Identification Certificate, a special form of identification available only to people who have never had a Texas ID. To get one, you can either schedule an appointment with the state’s Department of Public Safety or walk in. When you arrive at the DPS office, EICs are given priority.
“If a person does not have and cannot reasonably obtain one of those IDs, they must sign a reasonable impediment declaration and provide supporting documentation,” Pierce said.
How to get a driver’s license
If you do want to flash that Texas license at the polls, you’ll need to do a few things before applying for one.
First off, the state wants you to register your car within 30 days of moving to Texas. To do so you’ll need to get a vehicle inspection. (The rules around this are changing some come Jan. 1. Read more about that here.) Make sure you have your vehicle insurance card with you for that step. After getting the inspection, take your insurance card, vehicle inspection report and proof of ownership – or current car registration from your previous state – to the local county tax-assessor collector office.
Once your vehicle is registered, you are clear to get a Texas drivers license. By state law, you’ll need to get that within 90 days of moving. To do this you'll want to schedule an appointment with DPS, or go and standby for an opening. (Make sure when you head to the DPS office you have the proper identification documents.)
This is where things get a little more complicated. Depending on which DPS location you’re trying to visit, you might not be able to get an appointment for months. At the time this story was published, wait times for appointments at Texas Department of Public Safety locations around Austin ranged from two weeks to a month.
Why is the wait for a license appointment so long?
The problem isn't new — and DPS is well aware of it. While an agency spokesperson declined to do an interview for this story, they did respond to emailed questions from The Texas Newsroom. Addressing the massive wait times, DPS cited, “a number of factors that impact the department’s ability to serve customers.” Those include the state’s population growth, staffing at the agency and the fact that a quarter of people who schedule appointments end up not showing at their designated time.
To tackle some of the delay, Texas DPS recently announced they’ll be opening the next few Saturdays.
For people who can't wait a month to get a new license, standby appointments are available if you show up at a DPS office — but there's no guarantee on how long the wait will be.
The state launched its online appointment system in May 2020. While the system has reduced the long physical lines that can be seen at DPS offices, virtually the lines still exist. The Texas Newsroom is waiting for the agency to reply to a public records request concerning average wait times since 2020.
While you won’t likely be waiting past the 90-day window state law provides, there are many reasons a person may want to get a license much faster: an out-of-state license expiring, etc. As a new Texas resident myself, I wanted my license because I've always used it as a form of identification when voting.
(You can hear about my quest to get a Texas license by clicking the play button at the top of this story.)
Are there any ways I can get my license quicker?
Since you’ve read this far, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
In Austin, there’s one DPS location that’s off the general public’s radar. It’s located right across the street from the Texas Capitol in the Robert E. Johnson Legislative Office Building.
From what I’ve learned, it’s mostly used by government officials or their friends and family. But you can make an appointment there by calling 512-463-9962.
This location is so off the radar that Yelp, the business review website, says it’s closed. But, reader, it’s not! I made an appointment there and got my Texas license days later.
So apologies to the one Yelp reviewer who wrote, “Shhhh, seriously, do not tell anybody about this location. For some number of years, poor Austinites have suffered under the misimpression that this DPS location is only for government workers---and they are wrong.”
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