Kristopher Rivera

El Paso Times

Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos stopped by the El Paso County Courthouse Tuesday in an effort to inform locals about new voter ID laws prior to the presidential election in November.

“El Paso is not alone, pretty much in every county along the border, voter output is low,” Cascos said Tuesday in a press conference. “Even some of your rural counties throughout the state, their percentages are low. The responsibility of getting the vote out is not mine, mine is to educate and inform, encourage people to register, encourage people to vote.”

He added that it’s each candidate’s responsibility to get the vote.

Cascos' voter education campaign is statewide and the El Paso County Courthouse was his first visit to an elections office.

The 2016 campaign is taking place in the wake of a change in Texas voter ID laws that occurred in July. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the 2011 voter ID law did not comply with the Voting Rights Act. The law specified the type of photo identification election officials can and cannot accept at the polls.

Voters may present an election identification certificate, a state driver’s license or ID card, a U.S. military ID, a U.S. passport, a U.S. citizenship certificate or a concealed handgun license. Each form of ID must include a photo. Opponents of the law believe it was meant to weaken the electoral strength of the state’s rising minority population. The Texas Tribune stated Texas is among nine states categorized as requiring “strict photo ID,” and its list of acceptable forms is the shortest.

Now voters have the option to present another form of ID if they cannot obtain one of the primary forms. Other options have to include demonstrating reasonable impediment as to why they cannot obtain the photo ID. They have to sign a form explaining what their reasonable impediment is in addition to providing another type of ID with their name and address on it, such as a birth certificate, government paycheck, voter registration card, current utility bill, pay stub or bank statement that includes the voter's name and address, or a copy of or original government document with the voter's name and address — an original copy is required if it contains a photograph.

In March, The Texas Tribune reported that Texas was second-to-last in voting-age participation during the primaries.

“Texas is number one is a lot of things, but we’re not number one in voting,” Cascos said. “I don’t like being close to the bottom in anything, much less something that is the cornerstone of our government and our democracy.”

Editorial: Education needed on voter ID changes

Texas had an 11 percent voter turnout statewide in the 2012 elections, Cascos said

“The election we’re about to go into this cycle of November — that will traditionally be the biggest turnout,” said Lisa Wise, El Paso County Elections Administrator. “Not only is it a presidential year, but it’s an open presidential year so it should mimic around the 2008 numbers. We’re hoping to get to the 60 to 70 percent if possible, that’s really pushing it, but we may get a turnout difference with the new voter ID law.”

During the conference, Cascos encouraged voters to head to the polls and vote an empty ballot at the ballot box if they do not favor any presidential candidate.

“(Casco) encourages us to get people out to vote, well I don’t want to just send anybody out just to count a vote,” said Barbara Carrasco, precinct chair for the Republican Party in El Paso. “I want to make sure that the people who go vote actually know who they’re voting for and what they stand for.”

Carrasco added, “I don’t know what it’s going to take in El Paso. We have a lot of uninformed voters. A lot of people just go in and vote straight ticket, but neither party is perfect.”

Kristopher Rivera may be reached at 546-6121; krivera@elpasotimes.com; @kgrivera on Twitter.