The Brazos County Tax Office mailed more than 81,000 voter registration cards last week.
Kristy Roe, tax assessor/collector said the new cards are effective January 1, 2016 and are valid for two years.
“Our concern is that this time of year is very busy, lot of Christmas cards, lot of packages, lot of stuff going out, and so we just want to make sure that people are watching for those voter certificates,” said Roe.
If you believe you should have received a certificate, and you have not, Roe said to contact the tax office.
“That will enable us to go ahead and research the problem and get whatever documents to you that we need,” said Roe.
The blue and white cards are to replace the orange and white cards that expire December 31, 2015.
If you are not a registered voter, you can pick up an application at all of the local libraries, the main post offices, Texas A&M and Blinn College campuses, and the tax office.
Click below to hear comments from Kristy Roe visiting with WTAW’s Chelsea Reber.
Courtesy of the Brazos County Tax Office:
Brazos County voters should be watching for something extra in with their Christmas cards and holiday sale flyers. Over 81,000 voter registration certificates were mailed to registered voters this week. The blue and white certificates are to replace the orange and white cards which expire December 31st.
The new certificates are effective beginning January 1st, 2016 and are valid for the next two years. The biannual mass mailing of voter certificates is a useful tool to help voter registrars identify changes to registered voter’s records that have not been submitted to the office. Voter certificates cannot be forwarded, so voters with new addresses may not receive their replacement card.
The certificates that are returned to the Voter Registration Office will generate a second mailing to any forwarding address information received from the U.S. Postal Service. The voter will be asked to submit corrected information to the office so a replacement certificate can be sent. All records of voters whose initial certificate is returned to the office will be placed on a “suspense” list.
Receiving corrected information allows the voter registration staff to remove the suspense notation from the record. If corrected information is not received, the suspense notation will remain on the voter’s record until the voter submits a correction, or participates in an election. During an election, a voter with a suspense notation will be required to complete an address confirmation card before being allowed to vote.
The suspense list helps the Voter Registrar to make sure the list of registered voters is accurate and assures that voters are receiving the correct ballots at election time. New certificates that are received for family members that no longer live at the address should be returned to the Voter Registrar with any information necessary to help “clean up” the voter rolls.
Only “active” registered voters will receive new voter cards. Any voter who is already on the suspense list will not receive a card. Registered voters who have not received a new voter certificate or a letter of request by the end of January should contact the Brazos County Tax Office for assistance. Registered voters who remain on the suspense list for two federal election cycles are purged from the voter