Austin post offices drop out of plan to host voter registration drive today

Local post offices across Travis County have reversed a plan that would have allowed residents to register to vote on-site today. Oct. 7 is the last day for Texans to register for the Nov. 5 election.

With the help of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the county was all set to partner with the Postal Service to register people through midnight – the deadline. But late last week, the Postal Service rescinded its offer, citing “security concerns,” Doggett told KUT.

He said the Postal Service had agreed to allow voter registrars in certain post offices, but then “changed their minds” at the last second.

“Texas is well known as the state that puts up the most obstacles in the way of people voting, worst of all the 50 states,” Doggett said. “And one of those requirements is an early deadline that you have to be registered to vote.”

Residents can pick up an application at the post office, but there is no guarantee the application will get the proper postmark, unless the person stands in line to get one.

The registration drive is part of an attempt by Travis County election officials to help minimize the number of late voter registration applications. Bruce Elfant, Travis County voter registrar, said thousands of applications are rejected every cycle because they don’t have a timely postmark. Applications this cycle must be postmarked by today, Oct. 7.

“For years, I have been seeking a solution with the U.S. Postal Service that would minimize the number of citizens unable to vote due to late postmarks,” Elfant said.

Becky Hernandez, a spokesperson with the U.S. Postal Service, told KUT that postal facilities can sometimes be used for voter registration, but it is at the discretion of area and local postal management.

“While we agreed to an earlier request, upon further review, we had to decline due to security issues and staffing requirements,” she said in a statement. “We regret causing any confusion.”

She said the U.S. Postal Service is committed to the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s election mail, including ballots and voter registration applications.

Several local officials, advocates and state lawmakers say claims from Gov. Greg Abbott of voter fraud and attempts by Attorney General Ken Paxton to stop a program that mails out voter registration forms are intended to intimidate voters and cast doubt on the election process.

There has been no evidence of fraud found, officials have said.

Doggett said the Postal Service has been uncooperative in recent elections, and this is just the latest example of that. But he said that should not stop people from registering to vote in what is one of the most important elections of a generation.

“If Ken Paxton is working that hard along with Greg Abbott to block our vote, it ought to be all the more reason that everyone get registered to vote,” he said, “and make a plan to vote as early as two weeks from Monday.”

Elfant said while it is “disappointing” and “unfortunate” the post office chose not to partner with the county on this effort, the county would continue to do everything it could to help eligible residents register to vote.

That is why today the county is giving Travis County residents one last chance to register in person. The county will have more than two dozen locations set up across town where people can fill out an application on the spot.

With the deadline so close, Elfant said it’s best to have people fill out applications in person and even hand-deliver them to the local tax office. He said it helps ensure an application is processed on time, noting the possibility of poor handwriting, incomplete applications or other factors that could cause mistakes or disruptions with the registration process.

Volunteer deputy registrars will be at several locations today, including local tax offices, ThunderCloud Subs restaurants and even local coffee shop Radio Coffee & Beer. At least four of the two dozen locations will be open until midnight.

“I would really encourage people who are going to register or update their address at the last minute to either come to a tax office location and register, or visit any one of the several locations we have open on Monday,” he said. “We want to make it as easy as possible for folks who want to participate in their democracy to be able to do so.”

There are several other places across Central Texas hosting voter registration drives today.

Just last month, Elfant said, 10,000 new voters have been added to the voter rolls in Travis County. He expects thousands more today. As of Wednesday, Travis County had 917,741 people registered to vote.

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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