NUECES COUNTY, Texas — Today was the last day to register to vote in Texas.
If you registered to vote by October 5, don't worry, you're eligible to vote in the 2020 election. However, you might not be able to take advantage of Governor Greg Abbott's early voting extension, which added nearly another week to voting.
We spoke with the Voter Registrar Kevin Kieschnick with Nueces County about why this is.
"Some of those folks who are doing it last minute, they might not be in the system yet that first week of early voting because it is a week earlier than it normally is," Kieschnick said.
Kieschnick said as soon as the voter registration office receives your application to register to vote, they input your information into the system. It then has to be approved by the Secretary of State Department.
He said if there is an influx of applications, it'll take the state a bit longer to process. Once that's complete, you're registered.
If your registration doesn't get approved during the time you plan to early vote, Kieschnick said you can ask for a provisional ballot and fill it out at your polling place.
The decision to extend early voting was declared on July 27. Abbott said the decision to issue the proclamation was in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"By extending the early voting period and expanding the period in which mail in ballots can be hand-delivered, Texans will have greater flexibility to cast their ballots, while at the same time protecting themselves and others from COVID-19," Abbott said.
When the governor declared the order, Texas had just exceeded a total of 400,000 coronavirus cases statewide.