Harris County Voter Registrar Leo Vasquez is reminding citizens who are residents of Harris County that they must register to vote by October 5th to have their voice heard Election Day, November 3rd.

That day, there will be a statewide vote on 11 constitutional amendments. In conjunction with that election, 14 Harris County jurisdictions, including the City of Houston and several large school districts, are holding elections. A few small jurisdictions will hold their own elections separate from the elections administered by the Harris County Clerk’s Office.

“We have made registering to vote more convenient than ever in Harris County,” Vasquez noted. “Voter registration applications are available at our 16 Tax Office branches, public libraries, City of Houston multi-service centers, community centers and health clinics. You can even download an application from our Web site, www.hcvoter.net.

“My office is working hard to ensure that every eligible citizen has an opportunity to register to vote,” Vasquez asserted. “If you’re eligible and don’t register, that’s your choice. But it’s a poor one. America was built by citizens fulfilling the two great privileges and duties of citizenship, voting and jury duty.

“I urge the citizens of Harris County to be sure your voter registration is up-to-date, and then please make the effort to cast your vote.”

Completed registration applications must be delivered to any Tax Office location by 4:45 p.m., the end of the business day, on Monday, Oct. 5 or mailed with a USPS postmark date of Oct. 5, 2009 to Leo Vasquez, Tax Assessor-Collector, P.O. Box 3527, Houston, TX 77253-9803.

Assistance in English, Spanish and Vietnamese is available from the Harris County Tax Office Voter Registration team. Call 713-368-VOTE (8683).

Background information
 
Applicants may register to vote if they are:
 
•    A resident of Harris County, and
•    At least 17 years, 10 months of age (to vote, you must be 18), and
•    A U.S. citizen, and
•    Not declared mentally incapacitated by a final judgment of a court of law, and
•    Not finally convicted of a felony - or have satisfied the court's requirements after a felony conviction or have received a pardon.

You may check on your voter registration status through www.hcvoter.net.
If a registered voter moves, the voter’s address should be changed. The easiest way is to turn in a new voter registration application at any Tax Office branch or by mailing it to Leo Vasquez, Tax Assessor-Collector, P.O. Box 3527, Houston, TX 77253-9803.

Harris County voters also can update voter registration addresses through www.texasonline.com. Use the link labeled “Renew Driver Licenses” and have your driver’s license or Texas ID and your social security number handy. Address changes must be completed on or before Oct. 5, 2009 to vote on Nov. 3, 2009.