Karan Shirk has searched for three months for appointments on the Texas Department of Public Safety website, looking for anything between Austin and San Antonio. She keeps getting the same automated reply:
“No Availability. There is no availability for service type: Apply for first time Texas ID.”
“I’m frustrated and a little bit angry,” Shirk told me this past week, still scouring for an appointment so the 18-year-old grandson she’s helped raise can get his first Texas identification card.
Both are growing anxious about this problem. Nathan Shirk, who graduated from Crockett High in May, is eager to vote in this fall's presidential election. Texas requires voters to present a government-issued photo ID at the polls, yet the shortage of appointments at Central Texas DPS offices makes that ID nearly impossible to get.
It’s not like the system is offering appointments that are months away. It’s giving the Shirks nothing near Austin at all. I got the same “No Availability” response this past week when I searched for first-time ID appointments in Austin. Broadening the search area pointed me toward appointments in Lampasas, Killeen or the town of Caldwell.
And while the DPS encourages people to look for appointments in other cities — I drove my two teenagers to New Braunfels last year to get their learner’s licenses — not all families are in a position to make such a trek.
“It's very frustrating,” said Karan Shirk, a retired nurse who has volunteered in political campaigns. “It shouldn't be this hard.”
I suspect the Shirks’ situation will ring familiar for many families in Texas, a state where leaders boast about jobs and economic opportunity, but then fail to ensure people can get the state ID that’s needed to participate in that economy. You need an ID to get a job, to drive to work, to open a bank account and to lease an apartment.
You also need an ID to vote — but there is an alternative path to the ballot box for those who don’t have an ID, and voting rights advocates say not enough people know about this option.
No ID? Ask for a ‘reasonable impediment’ form
Any registered voter who doesn’t have an ID can vote after filling out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration form at the polling place.
Importantly, you’ll have to bring another form of documentation. Your voter registration certificate is ideal, but you could also bring a utility bill or a pay stub with your name on it. Or, if you moved to Texas and haven’t been able to get your Texas ID yet, your ID from your previous state will work with a “reasonable impediment” form.
“The form says there's a bunch of different options about why you couldn't get the appropriate ID, but one of them is basically, ‘I tried and couldn't get one in time,’” Valerie DeBill, vice president of voters service for League of Women Voters of Austin, told me.
“Not having a Texas ID or a U.S. ID should not be an obstacle to being able to vote” for citizens, she emphasized. “It just adds an extra step that most people are not aware of.”
State Rep. Erin Zwiener is among those trying to spread the word. Her Hays County district includes tens of thousands of students at Texas State University, some of whom face the same challenges as Nathan Shirk in finding a DPS appointment.
“I just tried the other day, and I couldn’t find anything closer than Seguin before January,” Zwiener told me. “I can't tell you how horrified I was.”
She’s trying to make sure voters caught in this bind know they can still cast their ballot after filling out a “reasonable impediment” form at the polls.
“We have a systemic problem here in Central Texas” with the lack of DPS appointments, Zwiener continued. “If you cannot get a driver's license appointment or state ID appointment before the election, and it is months out, that is absolutely a reasonable impediment to having that identification.”
Texas needs to address DPS staffing shortage
At the same time, the DPS needs to boost staffing to meet the demand for new IDs and renewals in Central Texas. Even if Nathan Shirk casts his vote with a “reasonable impediment” form, he still needs a state ID for other things, like participating in the workforce training program that will help him find his first job.
Sadly, the backlog seems just as bad as it was in January 2023, when I visited with people lining up in the predawn hours to grab one of the few same-day appointments offered at the South Austin DPS office.
DPS press secretary Sheridan Nolen said the agency allows people to schedule appointments online up to six months in advance, and some license renewals can be done fully online. Still, we’re seeing the ongoing effects of a DPS staffing shortage.
“In the current job climate, we face challenges finding qualified applicants to fill open positions at (driver’s license) offices around the state,” Nolen said. “Staffing is greatly reducing the number of appointments offices can offer.”
Zwiener told me the staffing shortage seems to be most acute in Central Texas. She wants to see whether it’s possible for the Legislature to boost the pay for DPS workers in this region.
“We know the labor market in Central Texas is not the same as the labor market in the rest of the state,” Zwiener said. “We know the cost of living is not the same. And if we're going to provide services to the people in this region, we have to pay enough to keep people.”
Especially when those staffers help Texans get the IDs they can’t afford to go without.
Grumet is the Statesman’s Metro columnist. Her column, ATX in Context, contains her opinions. Share yours via email at bgrumet@statesman.com or on X at @bgrumet. Find her previous work 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 card, U.S. passport or military photo ID (student IDs are not accepted). But there is an alternative way to meet this ID requirement by filling out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration form at the polls. Here's what you need to know:
- You still need to bring a document. Your voter registration certificate, mailed to you by the local voter registrar's office, is ideal. Or you can bring any one of the following: your birth certificate; a recent utility bill or bank statement with your name on it; or a government check or a paycheck.
- Ask for a Reasonable Impediment Declaration form at the voting site. You'll check off the box that explains why you do not have a photo ID. Options include lack of transportation, ID was lost or stolen, or work or family responsibilities.
- You will vote a regular ballot, and your vote will count. Voters who fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration form are given a standard ballot, not a provisional ballot.
- Can't find your voter registration certificate? It's easy to get a replacement mailed to you by contacting your local voter registrar's office. In Travis County, call the Tax Collector and Voter Registrar's Office at 512-854-9473; email tax_voters@traviscountytx.gov; or visit the main tax office at 2433 Ridgepoint Drive to receive a replacement certificate in person. In Williamson County, call 512-943-1630 or email VoterRegistration@wilco.org. In Hays County, call 512-393-7310 or email elections@co.hays.tx.us. In Bastrop County, call 512-581-7160 or email elections@co.bastrop.tx.us.
- If you have any difficulties at the voting site: Call or text 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683), a hotline administered by nonpartisan voting advocates, to speak with a trained volunteer who can explain the law and your options.
If you need to get a Texas ID
The DPS has an online scheduling portal at public.txdpsscheduler.com, but appointments in some areas can be hard to get or months away. Here's what you can do:
- Consider hitting the road. The scheduling portal can show you appointments in other cities, such as Pflugerville or Killeen. They might have openings sooner.
- If you're renewing, see if you can do it online. Many Texans with current IDs qualify for this easy process, no appointment needed. Visit tinyurl.com/bdhuya7t for information and to check your eligibility.
- Keep checking the scheduling website. People cancel and change appointments all the time, which means new dates can open up.
- Cancel if you can’t go. In June, 27% of the scheduled appointments at DPS offices — 173,417 appointments statewide — ended up being no-shows. The DPS urges people in that situation to cancel their appointment through the scheduling portal so another person can grab 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 offering others the chance to wait at the office on a standby list that will be served by the end of that day. It’s not unusual for people to get in line for same-day appointments before 5 a.m. You can also check the scheduling portal each morning for new openings created by cancellations.
