Karan Shirk spent three months searching the Texas Department of Public Safety website for appointments, anywhere between Austin and San Antonio. She always gets the same automated response:
“No availability. There is no availability for the service type ‘Apply for First Time Texas ID.'”
“I’m frustrated and a little angry,” Shirk told me last week, still looking for an appointment so her 18-year-old grandson, whom she helped raise, can get his first Texas ID card.
Both are increasingly concerned about the issue. Nathan Shirk, who graduated from Crockett High School in May, can’t wait to vote in the fall presidential election. In Texas, voters are required to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls, but the lack of appointments at Central Texas DPS offices makes it nearly impossible to get one.
It’s not like the system is offering appointments months in advance. It’s not giving the shirks near Austin anything. I got the same “No availability” response last week when I searched for first-time ID appointments in Austin. When I expanded the search area, I was shown appointments in Lampasas, Killeen, or the city of Caldwell.
And while DPS encourages people to look for appointments in other cities—I drove to New Braunfels with my two teenagers last year to get their learner’s permits—not all families are able to make such a trip.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Karan Shirk, a retired nurse who has volunteered on political campaigns. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”
I suspect the shirk situation sounds familiar to many families in Texas, a state where politicians boast about jobs and economic opportunity but then fail to provide people with the government ID they need to participate in that economy. You need an ID to get a job, to drive to work, to open a bank account, to rent an apartment.
ID is also required to vote, but for those without ID, there is an alternative route to the polls. Voting rights activists say, however, not enough people know about this option.
No ID? Request a valid obstacle form
Any registered voter without an ID card may vote after completing a form explaining valid obstacles at the polling station.
Importantly, you will need to bring another document. Your voter registration certificate is ideal, but you can also bring a utility bill or pay stub with your name on it. Or, if you moved to Texas and haven’t yet received your Texas ID, your ID from your previous state with a “reasonable impediment” form will suffice.
“The form says there are a number of possibilities why you couldn’t get an appropriate ID, but one of them is essentially, ‘I tried and couldn’t get one in time,'” Valerie DeBill, vice president of voter services for the League of Women Voters of Austin, told me.
“Not having a Texas or US ID should not “This is not an obstacle for citizens to be able to vote,” she stressed. “It just adds an extra step that most people are not aware of.”
State Rep. Erin Zwiener is one of those trying to spread the message. Her Hays County district is home to tens of thousands of students studying at Texas State University, some of whom face the same challenges Nathan Shirk faced in finding employment in DPS.
“I tried it the other day and couldn’t find anything closer than Seguin before January,” Zwiener told me. “I can’t tell you how horrified I was.”
She wants to make sure voters in this predicament know they can still cast their vote by filling out a “legitimate disability” form at the polling place.
“We have a systemic problem here in Central Texas” with the lack of DPS appointments, Zwiener continued. “If you can’t get an appointment for a driver’s license or an ID card before the election and it’s months away, that’s absolutely a justified obstacle to the possession of this document.”
Texas needs to address DPS staffing shortage
At the same time, DPS needs to hire more staff to meet the demand for new and renewed IDs in Central Texas. Even if Nathan Shirk casts his vote with a “reasonable impediment,” he will still need a state ID for other things, like participating in the job training program that will help him find his first job.
Unfortunately, the backlog appears to be just as large as it was in January 2023, when I was there and people were lining up in the wee hours of the morning to get one of the few same-day appointments the South Austin DPS office offered.
DPS spokeswoman Sheridan Nolen said the agency allows people to make appointments online up to six months in advance, and some license renewals can be completed entirely online. Still, we are seeing the ongoing impact of a staffing shortage at DPS.
“In the current labor market environment, we are challenged to find qualified applicants for open positions in driver’s license offices across the state,” Nolen said. “The offices are only able to offer a few positions due to staffing shortages.”
Zwiener told me the staffing shortage is greatest in Central Texas, and she wants to see if lawmakers can increase pay for DPS employees in that region.
“We know the job market in Central Texas is not the same as the rest of the state,” Zwiener said. “We know the cost of living is not the same. And if we want to provide services to people in this region, we have to pay enough to keep people.”
This is especially true when those employees help Texans obtain identification cards they cannot live without.
Grumet is the Statesman’s Metro columnist. Her column, ATX in Context, contains her opinions. Share yours by emailing [email protected] or X at @bgrumet. Her previous work can be found at statesman.com/opinion/columns.
If you want to vote
Texas law requires voters to present a government-issued photo ID, typically a Texas driver’s license, state ID, U.S. passport, or military photo ID (student IDs are not accepted). However, there is an alternative way to meet this ID requirement by presenting a Form for declaring a valid obstacle at the ballot box. Here’s what you need to know:
- A document must still be brought along. Your voter registration certificate, which will be sent to you by your local voter registration office, is ideal. Alternatively, you can bring one of the following documents: your birth certificate, a recent utility bill or bank statement with your name on it, a government check, or a paycheck.
- At the polling place, request a declaration of valid obstacles form. You tick the box explaining why you do not have photo ID. Possible reasons include lack of transportation, loss or theft of the ID, or work or family obligations.
- You are participating in a regular vote and your vote counts. Voters who complete a form declaring a reasonable impediment to voting will receive a standard ballot, not a provisional ballot.
- Can’t find your voter registration certificate? You can easily have a replacement mailed to you by contacting your local Registrar of Voters office. In Travis County, call the Tax and Voters Office at 512-854-9473, email [email protected] or visit the main tax office at 2433 Ridgepoint Drive to get a replacement certificate in person. In Williamson County, call 512-943-1630 or email [email protected]. In Hays County, call 512-393-7310 or email [email protected]. In Bastrop County, call 512-581-7160 or email [email protected].
- If you encounter difficulties at the polling place: Call or text 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683), the hotline managed by nonpartisan voting activists, to speak with a trained volunteer who can explain the law and your options.
If you need a Texas ID
The DPS has an online scheduling portal at public.txdpsscheduler.com, but in some areas appointments can be difficult to get or are months in advance. Here’s what you can do:
- Consider setting out on your journey. The scheduling portal can show you appointments in other cities like Pflugerville or Killeen, where appointments may be available sooner.
- If you need to renew, check whether this is possible online. Many Texans with valid ID can participate in this simple process, which does not require an appointment. For more information and to check your eligibility, visit tinyurl.com/bdhuya7t.
- Please check the scheduling website regularly. It happens all the time that appointments are cancelled or changed, so that new appointments can become available.
- Please cancel if you can’t come. In June, 27% of scheduled appointments at DPS offices – 173,417 appointments statewide – were missed. DPS urges individuals in this situation to cancel their appointment through the scheduling portal so someone else can take over that time slot.
- And if all else fails: Many DPS offices offer a limited number of same-day appointments on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have the option to wait on an in-office waiting list that is processed by the end of the day. It’s not uncommon to see people lining up for same-day appointments as early as 5 a.m. You can also check the scheduling portal each morning for new appointments due to cancellations.
