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Sec. Of State’s Office Reassures That All Ballots Will Count Despite Voter ID Snags

Chris Eudaily
/
TPR News

Texas Secretary of State John Steen's office is guaranteeing that every ballot will count in this election, even if a voter is registered under a different name.

This is the Texas' first statewide election where photo ID is required to cast a ballot, which has led to some reported problems at polling places across the state.

"If by chance you don’t have a photo ID, you can still vote provisionally today," said Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office. "And then you’ll have a full week to go ahead and get your photo ID and bring it to your voter registrar in order to have your ballot count."

Several high-profile lawmakers and state elected officials have had to submit an affidavit when the name on their voter ID didn't match their voter registration card. Pierce said an amendment authored by Wendy Davis allows those votes to count.

"Because of the amendment, the law requires that you attest to the fact that you are the same person if your IDs don’t match exactly," Pierce said. "But we haven't found that that’s causing any problems."

Pierce said there is a significant increase in turnout this election compared to the last two constitutional amendment elections.

Ryan started his radio career in 2002 working for Austin’s News Radio KLBJ-AM as a show producer for the station's organic gardening shows. This slowly evolved into a role as the morning show producer and later as the group’s executive producer.