Voters are encouraged to verify their registration details in advance for the November 2 General Election.

“Don’t wait until Election Day to call – that’s when our phones are the busiest,” said Ellis County Elections Administrator Jane Anderson. “Check now to see if you are registered to vote and verify your polling place.”

Visit the county website at www.co.ellis.tx.us to find your polling place, view sample ballots for your precinct, get election results on Election Night, or get a link to the Secretary of State’s Office.

If you requested a ballot by mail but have not returned it and wish to vote at the polls instead, you must take that ballot to your polling place and give it to the election worker. The mailed ballot will be cancelled at the poll and you can vote an Election Day ballot.

“You are required to have proper identification when you vote,” Anderson said. “You can qualify to vote with your voter card or your driver’s license.”

Other acceptable forms of identification may include:

• Personal identification issued by the Department of Public Safety;
• A photograph that establishes a person’s identity, such as an employee identification card;
• A birth certificate or other form confirming birth that is admissible in a court of law;
• U.S. citizenship papers;
• A U.S. passport;
• Official mail addressed to the person by name by a government agency;
• A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter.

At the poll, the election worker is required to ask if the residence and mailing address on record is correct. This is to confirm residence in Ellis County, and confirming the mailing address will ensure that the new voter card will be sent to the correct address.

“If your address has changed, you will be required to update your address before voting,” Anderson added.

New voter cards will be mailed in November, 2011.

Voters must update their voter registration address when moving or changing mailing addresses. Forms are available at the Texas Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.state.tx.us or at the Ellis County Elections/Voter Registration Office located at 106 S. Monroe Street in Waxahachie, as well as at all Ellis County Tax Office locations and most City Halls within the County.

After you submit your updated address information, you will receive a new voter card that will be valid 30 days from your registration date. The registration date is the postmark date or the date the application to register is delivered to the Elections/Voter Registration Office.

You may contact the Elections/Voter Registration Office by phone at 972-923-5195 or by e-mail at [email protected].