States that allow citizens to register to vote closer to Election Day have higher participation rates. In Texas, we have one of the earliest deadlines in the country. 

Texans must register a full thirty days before Election Day to be eligible to vote – the earliest allowed by the National Voter Registration Act. 

More still, many Texans go to polls on election day, just to be discouraged because of a fault in their registration. While many are able to cast provisional ballots, the burden rests on the voter’s shoulders to fix inaccuracies with their registration. Ultimately if the issue is not corrected in person at the office of your county’s voter registrar within one week of the election: (1) Your vote is not counted. (2) Your registration status is jeopardized. (3) And you could be suspended from the voter rolls.

Inaccuracies can be caused by anything from an election official not being able to read the handwriting on a registration application to a voter forgetting to update their address when they move from county to county. Most voters aren’t aware of these issues until they show up to vote, but there is no way for these voters to correct these simple problems at the polls.

Placing unnecessary restrictions on when and how a person can register for the first time or make changes to their registration information discourages and ultimately disenfranchises millions of voters across the state.