Texas Secretary of State John Scott’s office announced on January 14 that Travis County’s rejection of mail ballot applications for primary voting in last March’s election was issued without contacting his office to seek advice.
“Our office’s role to each county, including Travis County, is to be available to provide advice and assistance on implementation of Texas election law upon request,” a press release from Scott’s office said. “Nevertheless, Travis County made the decision to reject these mail ballot applications before contacting our office. We call on Travis County to immediately review and re-examine the mail ballot applications in question to determine whether they were processed in accordance with state law, with the goal of reinstating and minimizing any disruption to eligible voters who have properly submitted their application for ballot by mail. We anxiously await the results of their re-processing of these mail ballot applications.”
According to Scott, all county election officials are urged to contact the Texas Secretary of State’s office for advice and assistance on the proper method of processing mail ballot applications.
NPR Austin reporter Ashley Lopez tweeted that the Travis County Clerk’s office stated it “has rejected about fifty percent of applications for ballot by mail that have been received for the March 1, 2022, primary election,” due to changes to ID requirements made by Texas’ new voting law.
According to the Texas Tribune, absentee voters must include their driver’s license or state ID number on their applications, or the last four digits of their Social Security number in lieu of an identification card. Voters can indicate that they have not been issued those IDs if they do not have them. To approve a person for a mail-in ballot, counties must match the numbers provided by the potential voter to the information in their voter file.
Lopez also reported that the Travis County Clerk of Court will hold a news conference at 9:30 a.m. on January 18 at their 5501 Airport Blvd location in Austin.
According to the Texas Secretary of State’s office, eligible voters can track their mail-in ballot applications to their respective counties. Early voting clerks can use the Texas Secretary of State’s “My Voter Portal” to access the recently launched Ballot by Mail Tracker.
Under Texas law, you are only eligible to vote by mail if you are 65 years or older; sick or disabled; out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance; expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day, or confined in jail but otherwise eligible.
Last week, Scott’s office reminded voters that the deadline for voter registration for the March primary is January 31, 2022.
