Voter registration deadline nears

By Sam Waller

Voter registration cards for Shackelford County were mailed out on Tuesday, Jan. 4, in time for the March 1 primary elections.

“We have to have them postmarked by Jan. 12, so we got them out in plenty of time for that deadline,” said Belinda Perez in the county voter registration office.

Anyone wishing to register to vote in one of the primaries has until Jan. 31 to do so. State law requires voters to be registered 30 days before voting in an election.

Perez advised those who have received their new cards to double check the information on the front to make sure the names and addresses are correct.

Perez is working to remove anyone on the local registration list who has moved out of the county or who is deceased. She is also trying to help those who have moved to get properly registered at their new residences.

Anyone eligible to vote in Shackelford County who has not received a current registration card should go to the courthouse before the Jan. 31 deadline. 

Shackelford County ballots will have 22 races in the Republican primary and 14 in the Democratic primary. Offices range from the federal level, with the 19th Congressional District representative, through state offices such as governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, to local races such as district judge, county judge, two county commissioners, county/district clerk, justice of the peace, and county treasurer.

Ballot by Mail

To vote by mail, voters must apply to County Clerk Cheri Hawkins before the end of business on Feb. 18. Applications must actually be received, not just postmarked, by the deadline.

The application form can be found at www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/pol-sub/5-15f.pdf or can be obtained from the early voting clerk at the Shackelford County Courthouse. 

Those who are aged 65 or older and/or are disabled, by Texas law are allowed to mark “Annual Application” on the application for a ballot by mail to request ballots by mail for all county elections this year.

Completed application forms should be submitted, with proper postage, to Cheri Hawkins at P.O. Box 2109, Albany TX 76430.

Call the clerk’s  office at 325-762-9415 with any questions.

After the ballot arrives in the mail, voters must compete the ballot and mail it back. Voters should make sure that it will arrive at the courthouse by Tuesday, March 1, 2022 (primary election day) before 7:00 p.m. so those votes will be counted.

According to the Texas government website, to be eligible to vote early using a mail-in ballot, voters must meet at least one of the following requirements:

•be 65 years or older;

•be disabled;

•be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance; or

•be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.

Early Voting

Early voting will be held Feb. 14-25 at the courthouse.

Early voting requirements are the same as the requirements for voting on election day.