Script – How to Vote Instructional Video
Hello Texas!
The election is coming up. Early voting started on Tuesday and Election Day is on November third. We’re
seeing an unheard-of number of people voting early, including voting by mail. There are stories about
people voting for the first time, notable new first-time voters include Snoop Dogg and Shaquille O’Neal.
Fly in images of Snoop and Shaq –
People say every election that this is the most consequential election in history. This time, that may
actually be true. Here are the things you need to know.
1) Voter registration – Unfortunately, Texas isn’t like 18 other states that allow you to register to
vote on November third. The deadline for this election was October fifth. So, at this point you
are either registered to vote or you aren’t. You can check to confirm your voter registration by
calling your voter registrar, which is part of the Tax Assessor Collector’s office in many counties.
You can also check online. One way to check online is through the Texas Secretary of State’s
Office. Here’s the link: [Link] Graphics included and
the website pops in If you’re not registered now, that’s disappointing, but why not register
anyway. There are federal and state elections every two years and local elections can happen at
other times. Register now! Here’s the link for Harris County
[Link] If you are registered, the next step is to decide when
and where to vote
2) There are three methods for voting in Texas: (insert list in stages)
a. First, there’s absentee voting, where you cast your ballot by mail or dropping off at a
drop box or election office. Absentee voting is limited in Texas. Persons over 65 are
entitled, otherwise you must be unable to vote in person (for example, if you’re ill or
away from the county) You must request the absentee ballot. The ballot request must
be received by the County Clerk by October twenty-third. Then the ballot is sent to you.
You need to complete the ballot, put it in a secrecy envelope, then place the secrecy
envelope in a provided mailing envelope. The envelope must be mailed or delivered and
must be postmarked by November third.
b. Next, there’s early voting in person. This year, early voting started on October thirteenth
and continued until October thirtieth. There are fewer polling locations than on election
day, but you can vote in any early voting location in your county. You can find locations
for Harris County here [Link]
c. Finally, there’s in person voting on November third. There are more polling locations on
election day, you can find the locations at the website above.
3) If you’re going to the polling location at vote, you’ve already located where you need to go and
the times for voting. You need to bring PICTURE IDENTIFICATION to the poll!!! Most people use
their drivers license, or state issued identification card. Here are some other identification
documents you can use. (Insert photo of IDs) The poll worker checks your information against
the voter registration database and then directs you to one of the election stations. You go to
the voting machine and log in using the code that the poll worker gave you. You follow the
directions on the machine and select your choices. After you’ve made your selections, you have
to submit your choices in the machine. When you’ve submitted, you’re done. Congratulations,
you just participated in American democracy! Now you can put on your “I VOTED” sticker! (Fly in
photo of sticker) Thank you for voting!