Appleton: People must be registered to vote

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Election judges during early voting for the Nov. 8 general election have encountered an unusual problem during the past two weeks.
County Clerk Melody Appleton said at least 15 people attempted to vote early, but were not registered to vote.
“You have to be registered to vote in order to vote,” she said.
Appleton said people have requested to register when they showed up at the Scurry County Courthouse, but were told the deadline had passed.
Oct. 11 was the deadline to register for the Nov. 8 elections.
Appleton said today that there have been no reported issues with ballots or the voting machines not functioning properly during early voting.
Appleton also said election judges have not had any issues with people presenting a photo ID in order to vote and that 10 voters filed the declaration order for not having a state-approved ID.
The seven forms of state-approved photo ID are:
• Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
• Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by the DPS.
• Texas personal identification card issued by the DPS.
• Texas license to carry a handgun issued by the DPS.
• United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph.
• United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph.
• United States passport.
Appleton said if a voter does not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of the seven forms of photo ID, they may vote by signing a declaration at the polls explaining why they are reasonably unable to obtain it and by providing supporting documentation.
Supporting documentation can be an original, certified birth certificate, a valid voter registration certificate or a copy or original current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows the voter’s name and an address. Government documents which include a photo must be original and cannot be copies.
If a voter meets these requirements and is otherwise eligible to vote, they will be able to cast a regular ballot in the election.