Voter Registration Deadline is October 11 for November 8 Election
1.8 Million Registered to Vote in Harris County

HOUSTON – October 4, 2005 – Harris County Voter Registrar Paul Bettencourt reminds residents of Harris County that October 11, 2005 is the deadline to register to vote in the November 8 General Election. Texas law requires voters to be registered 30 days prior to the election in which they wish to vote.

“October 11 is an important date to remember for eligible Harris County residents who are not registered to vote,” said Bettencourt. “I urge eligible citizens to take the opportunity to make decisions for their communities on important issues such as electing the mayor for the fourth largest city in the United States, the marriage amendment, bail procedures and commercial loan rates.”

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 incompetent 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.

Voter Registration applications must be postmarked or delivered in person to any Tax Office location by October 11, 2005. Tax Office hours of operation are 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The Tax Office offers Harris County registered voters the opportunity to update their voter information online at www.hcvoter.net.

“The Tax Office multilingual Web site offers voters 24/7 access to their voter records with the most current information available,” said Bettencourt. “It’s easy and convenient to ‘Get online instead of in line’ to verify your voter information prior to the October 11 voter registration deadline.”

Applications and information regarding the status of registered voters are available on the Tax Office Web site: www.hcvoter.net. For more information, please call 713-368-VOTE (8683).

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