TYLER, Texas — The Smith County Voter Registration Office had quite a busy day as more than 100 Smith County residents turned in an application to become registered voters.
Tuesday, Oct. 11 is the official cutoff to register to vote in the gubernatorial election.
New and existing Smith County residents are making sure they don’t miss the opportunity to cast their ballot in November's election.
“We just moved recently a couple of weeks ago to Tyler and I wanted to make it in time to get my vote in,” said Robert Renteria, Smith County resident. “I think right now it is very important for everyone to be voting, especially with everything going on right now.”
The same applies to residents like Nury Burnett, who just gained her U.S. citizenship about 10 days ago.
Burnett said once she gained her citizenship, her top priority was to become a registered voter in Smith County.
“Becoming a citizen was one of my biggest highlights of this year. One of the big rights and again responsibility is voting so I was super excited to get registered,” Burnett said.
The Smith County elections office is also preparing poll workers assigned to work in the county with a series of on-online and hands-on training.
“They actually come in and they get out the equipment, set it up, turn it on, and go through different scenarios,” said Michelle Allcon, Smith County elections administrator. “I try to walk through some of those and how (to) handle them, so that they know what to expect on election day.”
Some of those scenarios include teaching each poll worker the identification process for when someone turns in an unusual form of ID. Along with working with voters who may request to vote curbside.
Election officials also want to remind voters before the deadline, to make sure residents update their home address on the voter rolls.
“We encourage everyone to verify your information if you know you've moved, please,” said Edna Morris, election chief deputy. “It's important that you make sure that your address is in the correct districts so that you can vote on the candidates in your districts.”
The Smith County election office will be open Oct. 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the voter registration deadline.
If you're interested in becoming a poll worker, you’re encouraged to fill out an application at the Smith County Voter’s Registrations Office.