AUSTIN, Texas — The Travis County Clerk’s Office on Thursday said it's had to reject almost half of its recent mail-in ballot applications as a result of Senate Bill 1, a voting bill signed into law last September.
The office has also said they haven’t received proper instruction on how to help voters to fix their applications. The clerk's office held a press conference on Jan. 18. You can watch that here:
In response prior to the conference, Texas Secretary of State John Scott issued the following statement Friday:
“We were surprised to learn for the first time of the apparent wholesale rejection of mail ballot applications by Travis County. 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. 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."
On Thursday, the two entities took to Twitter to address their concerns.
“Always, you can pick up the phone and call our office instead of calling a press conference. Much more time efficient,” said the Texas Secretary of State on Twitter.
This comment was in response to Travis County commenting on a Twitter post about voting in the March primary election. Travis County wrote that they needed more assistance regarding voter portals.
Senate Bill 1 requires applicants to submit their driver’s license number or the last four digits of social security, and for that information to then match the applicant’s voter registration record.
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir is planning to hold a press conference on Jan. 18 to discuss the issue.
Senate Bill 1 not only adds new requirements to mail-in voting, but it bans drive-thru voting, 24-hour voting and adds a criminal penalty to election officials who send mail-in ballot applications to people who haven’t requested them.
According to the Texas Secretary of State’s office, to qualify for vote by mail, you must be 65 years or older, sick or disabled, out of the county, expected to give birth within three weeks before or after election day, or in jail.
According to a press release Friday, a new Ballot by Mail tracking tool created by House Bill 1382 is now available online through the Texas Secretary of State's website.
"I'm excited that the statewide Ballot by Mail tracking tool is now available online through the Secretary of State's website," Rep. John Bucy III (D-Austin) said. "We passed H.B. 1382 to increase accessibility, efficiency, and transparency for Texas voters. This is the type of common sense modernization needed in Texas elections."
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