The race for Senate is now Talarico vs. Musk. Fuck the South African billionaire. He isn't a Texan and doesn't give a fuck about us. A vote for Paxton is a vote for Musk which means data centers across the rural landscape. Y'all want that?

Pick something in Texas that gets too much credit or not enough. A food chain, a town, a highway, a tradition, anything. Then tell us why you're right. Disagreeing is the whole point here, being a jerk isn't.

Honest question, because I feel like everyone says “corruption” and nobody explains it.

I used to picture it as someone taking a bribe in a parking garage. But the more I read, the more it seems like most of it is just... legal? A billionaire funds a politician, the politician writes a tax break or hands out a contract, and the rest of us pay for it. Nobody gets arrested. Our bills just keep going up.

Texas has plenty of examples. Two oil billionaires, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, are the biggest Republican donors in the state. Elon Musk put $158 million into a super PAC in September, and that money ended up funding ads for Ken Paxton. That’s one guy trying to pick our senator. And Paxton himself got impeached on corruption allegations by a Texas House his own party runs, so it’s not like this is a partisan smear.

Talarico said something at the CNN town hall that stuck with me: we have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but it kind of explains everything. If the people making the rules answer to donors, why would the rules ever be about our rent?

So what do we actually do? From what I can find, his plan is to ban super PACs, stop members of Congress from trading stocks, end gerrymandering, put term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court, and make every member of Congress hold town halls. He says it should apply to both parties. The super PAC part is the hard one since it probably needs a constitutional amendment, but the rest could actually pass.

The small stuff helps too. Every political ad ends with “paid for by.” Look that name up sometime. The donors are public on fec.gov. And early voting ends Friday, Oct. 30. They can buy every ad slot in Texas, but they can’t buy our votes.

Anyway. What would “taking on corruption” have to mean for you to feel it in your own life?

• Your registration status says "Suspense"
  • This does NOT mean you're suspended from voting! They will just ask you to confirm your address. If it doesn't say Cancelled or Inactive, and the address listed matches the county where you plan to vote, you are fine. (If it says Suspense AND it has an incorrect/old address, keep reading.)
• You are registered in a different TX county
  • Go to the county's main polling place DURING EARLY VOTING ONLY and ask for a Limited Ballot, which has nationwide and statewide races only. This option is not available on Election Day!
• You know for sure that you registered before the deadline, but your voter registration is not in the system when you check online
  • The public-facing website takes longer to update than the internal system used by poll workers, so you may not have any issues. If you do, ask for a Provisional Ballot. The registrar's office will do some extra research/checks and if they can determine they did receive your application on time, your ballot will be counted.
    • If you registered in person with a Volunteer Deputy Registrar, you should have received a receipt. If you happen to still have it, you should bring that with you, but it's not required.
• You didn't re-register for this year's election
  • You don't need to re-register for every election, so you may still be registered. Check your voter registration status - if it says Active or Suspense, you are good to go
• You never received/can't find your voter registration card
  • You do not need to bring your voter registration card to the polls, it's just a confirmation that you're registered
• You moved to a new address in the same county
  • They will just give you a form to fill out at the polls confirming your new address.
• Your Texas ID has an old address that doesn't match your voter registration
  • No problem at all, they are not required to match
• You can't find/don't have a Texas ID, or your ID has expired, or your appearance has changed and you don't look like the photo
  • The following forms of photo ID are accepted with nothing additional needed, and they are valid for voting if they are up to 4 years expired (or any number of years expired if you are over age 70):
    • TX driver's license or ID
    • US Passport
    • Military ID (with photo)
    • Texas handgun license
    • US Citizenship certificate (with photo)
    • Texas Election Identification Certificate (with photo)
  • However! If you don't have any of those, you can still vote using any of the following (copies are acceptable). You will just have to fill out an additional form.
    • Any government document that shows your name and an address (including voter registration card)
    • Current utility bill
    • Bank statement
    • Government check
    • Paycheck
    • Certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law, which establishes the voter's identity (which may include a foreign birth documents)
  • If you don't have access to a single one of the IDs/documents above before Election Day, BUT you will have at least one of them by 11/9, you should go to the polling place and ask for a Provisional Ballot. After voting with a Provisional Ballot, you can return within 6 calendar days with the ID/documents and your ballot will then be counted. You have the full 6 days even if that's after Election Day.
• Your name has changed from what is on your ID or voter registration, or the name on your documents is slightly incorrect
  • They will just have you fill out a form confirming the name change. (If your name is 100% different, I would recommend bringing documentation of the name change.)
• You applied for a Mail-In Ballot but never received it/lost it/received it too late
  • If you do not have the ballot: ask for a Provisional Ballot. Once they confirm you didn't send in your mail-in ballot too, your vote will be counted
    • If you requested a mail-in ballot because you physically cannot stand in line, see below
  • If you have the ballot but are worried about it arriving on time: you can bring it to your county's Election Office before 7pm on Election Day.
    • Note: You cannot deliver someone else's ballot for them, only the voter can deliver their own ballot, so you will need to bring ID or supporting documents.
• You can't stand in line due to physical disability
  • Anyone is allowed to vote curb-side at any polling place. Pull up to the signs that say Curb-Side Voting and call the number, and a poll worker will bring a voting machine out to you. This is intended for voters with mobility problems, but you do not have to provide any proof or explanation of why you are making the request.
  • If you prefer not to vote curb-side, you or a companion can go inside and speak to the poll worker who should be near the ballot scanner. They will escort you directly to the front of the line.
• You don't have a ride to the polls
  • Rideshare2Vote is giving free rides in many areas (including some areas NOT listed on their About page - I know they are working in Travis County for example).
  • The local chapter of your preferred political party may be offering rides - check out their website (or contact them for info)
  • Let me know if there is another statewide/multi-county org offering rides and I will add it here!
• You have to work on Election Day
  • Early Voting is now open! Even if you know you'll be available on Election Day, I always recommend voting early to keep the lines as short as possible so nobody gives up and leaves without voting.
  • If your work schedule does not include at least 2 consecutive hours free between 7am and 7pm on Election Day, your employer is legally required to give you time off to vote
• You can't get there early enough since the polls close at 7pm
  • If you can arrive anytime before 7pm, you will be allowed to vote! 7PM REALLY MEANS 7PM THOUGH - not 7:01. But as long as you are in line by that time, they will keep the polling place open to let you vote, even if it ends up being after midnight.
  • Your county may offer extended hours during the early voting period - for example Travis County has several locations open until 10pm the Thurs and Fri before Election Day
• You don't have anyone to watch your kids
  • I realize this won't work for some people and no judgment, but you are legally allowed to bring your kids (under the age of 18) to the polling place, including bringing them to the voting machine with you.
• You're worried about getting harassed at the polling place
  • Campaign activities of any kind are illegal within 100ft of a polling place. This is usually enforced pretty well. If you find anywhere that isn't enforcing it, please call Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE and report it - they will contact the polling place and make sure they are following the rules.
• You're worried that someone you know will find out who you voted for and cause you problems because of it
  • The fact that you did vote is public information, but who you chose to vote for is completely secret.
• You're anxious about an unknown situation
  • Here, I wrote you a book! (That post is a couple years old, but other than the businesses offering perks, nothing has changed since then)  https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/1gg1o8i/anxious_about_the_voting_process_heres_an/

Questions about any other situations? Anything I missed? Comment and I'll update.

Every Texas town has a story people swear is true. Share the legend, ghost story, or local folklore from where you live, and tell us the town or county. Photos welcome. Keep it Texan and keep it civil.

REJECT SATAN. VOTE BLUE TODAY!

Landing on the voter suspense list doesn’t mean your registration is suspended.  
 
But it is frustrating. I should know, I’m one of approximately 1.8 million Texans who had their status flagged ahead of the midterm elections this year.  
 
Spoiler alert: I was still able to vote. If you find yourself on the list, you can too.  

Don’t panic