AUSTIN (Texas) — A total of 27,000 Texas mail ballots were rejected in the first testing of new voting restrictions enacted throughout the U.S. This could have a negative impact on votes cast by Democrats or Republicans in all 50 states, as well as in small and large counties, according to analysis by The Associated Press.
This puts Texas’s rate of rejected mail ballots on track to surpass those of previous elections. These preliminary figures, which were reported by Texas counties following votes were counted in Texas’s March 1 primary, are the most complete picture yet of how new election rules were implemented by Republicans after the 2020 election. This made it more difficult for thousands of voters from both parties. Some voters will not have their ballots counted.
In a typical election, rejections of mail ballots is rare. According to AP county-by-county data, the initial rejection rate of mail voters in Texas’ primary was approximately 17%. These counties made up the majority of nearly 3 million voters in Texas’ first-in-the nation primary.
Although the final number discounted ballots will be smaller, early numbers indicate that Texas’ rejection rate will significantly exceed the 2020 general elections, which saw less than 1% of all mail ballots in Texas rejected. Federal data shows that Texas had received less than 1% of those ballots.
Pamiel Gaskin (75), of Houston said, “It took three attempts and 28 days before I got my ballot and voted.” She did not include a matching identification number as Texas’s new law requires.
The numbers don’t represent the actual number of Texas ballots that were thrown out. Voters had until Monday in order to “fix” mail ballots that were rejected. This meant, in most cases, providing identification as required by a broad law last fall signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
The new requirements require that the ballot’s carrier envelope must include an identification number, such as a driver’s licence or a Social Security Number. This number must match county records. Voters can add an ID number to a rejected ballot via an online tracking system. They can also visit the county’s elections offices and resolve the issue in person. Or, they could vote with a provisional ballot.
According to county election officers, they worked hard to reach these voters on time. In many cases, this was achieved successfully. A complete and final count of Texas’ rejected ballots is expected to be available in the coming days.
Nevertheless, many mail ballots have already been disqualified.
El Paso County, Texas reported that 725 postal ballots were rejected by the county and not counted following a Monday final canvass — approximately 16% of all ballots cast. Williamson County, which is located in the heart of Austin’s suburbs, had 521 rejected ballots. This was almost evenly divided between Republican primary voters and Democratic primary voters.
According to the U.S., roughly 8,300 Texas mail ballots were rejected during the 2020 election. Elections Assistance Commission.
Some mail voters who were rejected could have cast a ballot in person. Antonio Riveria is El Paso County’s assistant election administrator. He said Wednesday that the number was not known in his office. However, they usually reject significantly fewer mail-in ballots.
It’s much less. He suggested that it could be as low as 10
These numbers show how voters in Texas, both in large cities and outposts rurally red and blue, were caught up by the new law. It was promised that it would make it “easier for people to vote” and make it harder to cheat.
At least 17 additional states will vote this year in new voting laws. Many of these were pushed by Republican legislators who primarily targeted mail ballots after states increased options to make voting more secure during the coronavirus epidemic. The GOP’s persistent false claims about widespread fraud in President Joe Biden’s win fuelled some of these restrictions.
Abbott’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment on the number of ballots that were rejected.
John Scott, Texas Secretary of State, was appointed by Abbott as the state’s chief electoral officer. He said that the high number of rejections is due to voters not being fully familiar with the new rules. He expressed hope that these numbers will decrease in future elections.
Texas’ new mail voting rules require that voters return their ballots with a personal ID number, such as a driver’s license number. This number must then match the voter registration file number. Texas’ new rules ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting centers, and make it a crime for government officials to solicit mail ballots. Mail ballots in Texas are restricted to those over 65 who have a disability and are not residents of the county.
As an additional measure of transparency, the law requires counties to post a 1-page reconciliation report of voters and ballots following each election. According to the report, counties are required to list the number of rejected mail ballots as well as how many were accepted.
The AP received reports from 120 counties, nearly half of Texas’ 254 counties. This was done through county websites and contacting every county that hadn’t posted a report.
Harris County officials stated that more than 11,000 ballots were rejected in Texas’ largest county, Houston. The county’s preliminary report, which was dated one day later, listed the number of rejected mail votes at 3,277. Isabel Longoria , Harris County Elections Administrator, announced Tuesday that she would be stepping down after a botched vote count.
Houston Democrats are among the most vocal about Texas’ new voting laws. They claim they were designed to lower minority turnout. The new rules were not easy for Republican-leaning states.
Parker County, where former President Donald Trump won by a 4-to-1 margin in 2020 election, reported 250 rejected or pending mail ballots out of 1,100 votes. This is approximately 23%. The rejection rate for the Texas coast, Nueces County, where Trump narrowly won, was 8%.
The county reports show that in the five Trump counties with the highest number of mail-in voters, 4216 combined mailed ballots were rejected by the postal system or pending. This is 21% of the total. The combined 11,190 votes rejected or pending in the five counties won by Biden, which includes most of Texas’ largest cities, was 13%.
Kara Sands, Nueces County’s election administrator, stated that her office made it a point to ask voters for more than one ID number in order to prevent their ballots being rejected. She said that her office was not overwhelmed by voter frustration.
She said, “We didn’t get many people complaining about that.”
Texas holds its primary runoffs in May. Election officials state that their goal is to inform voters so they don’t have to repeat the mistake next time. Christopher Davis, Williamson County’s elections administrator, stated that the 11.5% final rejection rate was “by far” the highest in the county with more than 600,000.
He stated, “The hope is that we knock down this rejection rate.”