AUSTIN, Texas — It could be one of the most influential elections of our lifetime. And as Nov. 3 gets closer, we're here to make sure your vote counts.
The candidates ... ballots ... and voting laws can get complicated. But with this Election Day special, we're hoping to make it easier for you. Before you miss your last chance to vote in the 2020 election, we're laying out all the information you need to know.
The deadline to register to vote has already passed. Early voting by appearance ends on Oct. 30. And of course, Election Day is coming up on Nov. 3.
When it comes to getting to know candidates, the flood of campaign ads and social media posts are overwhelming.
KVUE's Molly Oak shows us how to cut through the clutter and become an informed voter.
Researching the candidates and issues
Let's talk about researching candidates. You want to know who you're voting for, right?
Well, whether it's someone running for senate or sheriff, they most likely have a website for their campaign and that's a good place to start.
There you can read where candidates stand on topics that you care about.
If you do a little more detective work, you can see how a U.S. senator or House representative has voted in the past.
Go to congress.gov and look up their voting history on issues you're passionate about. You can also find bills they sponsored or co-sponsored.
Maybe you want to dig a little deeper and check out their campaign finances.
For state leaders, head to the Texas Ethics Commission website. You'll see how much money is coming into a campaign and where it's coming from.
The same goes for candidates at the federal level. Just head to the Federal Election Commission's website.
If you want to hear directly from the candidate, attend a campaign event or town hall. Some of them are being held virtually because of COVID-19. Many candidates post upcoming events on their websites and Facebook pages.
So before you cast your vote, do a little homework and get to know your candidates. Preparation is key.
If you want to vote, you've got to know where to vote. You can find your polling place by going to VoteTexas.gov and clicking the button that says "where's my polling place?"
You can use your date of birth, plus your voter ID number, your driver license number, or your name and county, and it'll show you where to vote. County election officials' also have this information on their websites.
What you see on your ballot depends on where you live.
There's any easy way to get a sneak peek so that there are no surprises when go to cast your vote. Many county elections websites in texas allow you to pull up a sample ballot before election day.
For example, VoteTravis.com asks you to plug in your name and birth date, or you can type in your voter unique identification number found at the top left corner of your voter registration certificate.
Now click on "view my ballot." The presidential race gets top billing, but there are some big federal, state and local races ... and it's a lot to digest. So it might help to get familiar with some of the races now.
Of course, there's the race for U.S. Senate, with Democratic candidate MJ Hegar challenging incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
If you live in Texas' 21st congressional district, Democratic candidate Wendy Davis is trying to unseat Congressman Chip Roy.
And the list goes on ... judges, district attorneys and sheriffs. Like in Williamson County, where voters will decide whether to keep incumbent Sheriff Robert Chody or elect his challenger, retired assistant chief deputy Mike Gleason.
And don't forget, City of Austin residents in districts two, four, six, seven and 10 will vote for a city council member.
You will also likely see propositions. For example, in Austin, Prop A asks voters if they are willing to pay more in property taxes to help fund a multi-billion-dollar mass transit plan, known as Project Connect.
And that brings us to MUDs, or municipal utility districts. Think of them as small governments. A board of directors manages services like water, sewer and drainage for property owners.
So there's a lot to expect when you finally see your ballot, but there's still plenty of time to prepare.
How to make sure your vote counts
If you applied to vote absentee, there's a chance your mail-in vote will get rejected – and not just because it came in too late.
"It's extensive and it's tedious manual work. it's behind the scenes," said Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir.
She said county election officials work hard to keep the vote-by-mail process secure. But that means sometimes ballots are rejected and never counted.
In the 2016 presidential election, 222 of 23,379 mail-in ballots were rejected in Travis County – that's about 1%. And in, Williamson County, 225 of 11,463 mail-in ballots were rejected – about 2%.
"The number one reason for rejecting the ballot is the voter forgets to sign your signature across the seal flap," said Debeauvoir.
But there's another reason your ballot might be rejected.
When you submit a mail-in ballot in Texas, county election officials compare your signature on the envelope to the signature on file with your application to vote by mail. If they decide it doesn't match, it could be rejected and your vote won't count.
"That's how we prove up that as best as we can, that the person that applied for the ballot is the person that voted that ballot, completed that ballot, put it in the envelope and sent it back," said Chris Davis, Williamson County elections administrator.
Davis said the people who verify your signature aren't trained signature experts. In fact, they hardly receive any formal training at all.
"Does that concern you knowing that people who aren't receiving extensive training are reviewing and determining whether people's mail-in ballots will count for the election?" asked KVUE Defenders Reporter Brad Streicher.
"Brad, what concerns me about that is by law, and it's a matter of law, there's not a whole lot that I can do about it. Signature comparison can be a very subjective thing," he replied.
Two people sued the Texas Secretary of State last year after their mail-in ballots were rejected because election officials decided their signatures didn't match. As a result, their votes didn't count. But they won that lawsuit and a judge recently ordered some statewide changes.
Then a few weeks later, a different judge ordered election officials can still use signatures to reject a ballot, and they don't have to notify the voter until after the election.
DeBeauvoir said Travis County officials do get some training, and she's confident the process is reliable.
"We're having two people look at this signature comparison, and if one of them says it's OK and one of them says it's not OK, a third person gets called in to judge for the ballot or comes in and makes a final determination," she said.
What to bring with you to the polls
Does anyone else go through a mental checklist before leaving the house? Phone, keys, wallet ... and now a mask.
Well, before you head out to vote, add one more thing to that list – an ID.
You probably already knew that, but did you know there are seven different forms of identification that will work?
So if you lost your license or maybe you moved here and haven't been able to get an appointment to get your new license, whatever it is, there are other IDs you can use.
Aside from a Texas driver's license, you can also use your passport. Or, if you have a Texas election identification certificate, Texas personal identification card, or a Texas handgun license issued by the DPS, you can use any of those, too.
And if you have a U.S. military identification card or a U.S. citizenship certificate, you can use either of those, as long as it has your picture on it.
For voters who are between the ages of 18 and 69, if you do have your license but it's expired by a year or two, don't fret. Votetexas.gov said as long as it's less than four years expired, it's good to go.
Provisional ballots
Now, if you go to a polling place to vote and you don't have an approved photo ID, or for some reason polling place officials can't verify your voter registration, you can fill out what's called a "provisional ballot."
There are two ways to make sure election officials will allow your provisional ballot to count. You have to either visit your county voter registrar's office to show them an approved photo ID, or if you don't have a photo ID, you might qualify for a "reasonable impediment declaration." If that's the case, you'll have to show the poll worker one of the following:
- current utility bill
- bank statement
- government check
- paycheck
- certified domestic birth certificate
- government document with your name and address, including your voter registration.
How your vote impacts the Texas Legislature
All 150 seats in the Texas House are up for grabs. Republicans have held a majority in the house since 2001.
So, how will Election Day make a difference on the future of the state?
What goes on every two years inside of the State Capitol impacts life for Texans. The next Texas legislative session is just around the corner, and the seats that are on the ballot could help determine whether future bills pass or fail. It's something political experts said is especially important this time around.
"The legislature is important because they figure out what's going to go on," said Ross Ramsey, executive editor of The Texas Tribune. "What's the state government going to do about the coronavirus? What are they going to do about recession? What are they going to do about civil justice?"
And one huge task that the 87th Texas Legislature will get done in 2021 is redistricting – literally dividing up the state into new political districts.
"That will really determine the direction that the legislature can go on all sorts of issues, including funding public schools, transportation, criminal justice," said Ramsey.
Right now, Republicans rule the house with 83 seats. Democrats would need nine to flip the majority over.
Here in Central Texas, there are some tight races expected.
That includes District 45, which includes places like Dripping Springs and San Marcos. In that race, incumbent Democrat Erin Zwiener takes on Republican Carrie Isaac.
In District 47, which covers places like Lakeway and Lago Vista, incumbent Democrat Vikki Goodwin is facing challenger Republican Justin Berry.
And District 52, which has Round Rock, Hutto and Taylor, incumbent Democrat James Talarico faces off against Lucio Valdez.
"This election will come down to how well the Democrats can get into those suburban areas and how well the republicans can maintain control suburban areas," said David Thomason, a professor of political science at St. Edward's University.
"And if you have a split legislature, it doesn't necessarily make it easier for the Democrats to pass bills, but it makes it more difficult for the Republicans to pass bills," added Ramsey.
In short, experts advise you to just know the candidates and what they stand for.
"It really is about which party is in control over determining which bills move forward," said Thomason.
Mail-in votes could delay results on Election Night
Elections officials across the country are working hard to process a surge of mail-in ballots. But, still, some races may not have a clear winner on election night.
We got information from the Travis County Clerk and the Secretary of State to help us all better understand when votes get counted and when we'll get the final results.
To put it simply, counting votes starts on Election Day. That's the case whether you voted early, by mail or on Election Day.
But results could take some time because mail-in ballots get counted once they get to the county clerk's office, as long as they are postmarked by Nov. 3.
And in the case of overseas or military votes, they could arrive a few days after Election Day.
Not to mention, the Travis County clerk said she's expecting 100,000 mail-in ballots overall this year, which can be dropped off early or on Election Day.
"So we've got to figure out how to process the ones that come in on Election Day in time to count for election night," said DeBeauvoir. "With 100,000 ballots, that's about an eleven-hour throughput. So we will start first thing on election morning, bright and early in the morning, tallying those ballots."
Not that any results we do get on election night are unofficial.
According to the Secretary of State, all the mail-in ballots needing to be counted could cause delays – and close races may not be called on election night.
To make them official, they need to be canvassed. That pretty much means the final report where everything has been checked.
The canvass deadline is Nov. 12. Then they get sent to the governor, who reviews and signs it. Only then are the results official.
RELATED: Will an increased number of mail-in ballots affect when election results are finalized in Texas?
Why does the U.S. use the electoral college to pick the president?
The founding fathers were split: Should congress choose the president or should it be left to the people?
The use of electors was the solution. When you cast your vote for president, you're deciding which electors will represent your state. The number of electors in each state is determined by how many seats in Congress that state has. And that number is based on the state's population.
So, for example, let's look at Texas.
Every state has two senators. So right off the bat, that's two electors. Texas, the second-most populous state, has 36 representatives in the House. So the Lone Star State gets 38 total electors.
Whichever candidate wins Texas will get all 38 electoral votes. There are 538 total electoral votes – 535 for the states and three for the District of Columbia.
Forty-eight states are winner-take-all. Maine and Nebraska give two electoral votes to the statewide winner and one for the winner of each congressional district.
A simple majority of 270 electoral votes is needed to win. If neither candidate gets to 270, the House of Representatives will determine the president, but each state delegation, regardless of the number of electors, must vote as one. So there are only 50 votes up for grabs.
The Senate will determine the vice president with a simple majority vote of all 100 senators.
The popular vote winner has lost the electoral college in two of the last five elections. This has prompted calls to switch to a popular vote system, but that requires a constitutional amendment.
COVID-19: What you can expect at the polls
We all know it – 2020 is just weird. So voting is going to look a bit different this year.
We got information from Travis County on what you can expect at the polls.
Some things will be the same: no phones inside, but you can bring a sample ballot and a pen. And, of course, you'll need to have your ID.
But here's where COVID-19 comes into play:
Masks are encouraged but not required. However, poll workers will have kits with masks, face shields, wipes, hand sanitizer and gloves.
When you check in, there will be plexiglass table shields separating you from the poll worker.
And you'll get one of those finger covers to check in and you'll either use that to vote or you'll get a popsicle stick to use.
Of course, there will be social distancing. And Travis County said that polling spots will be cleaned throughout the day.
Other voting questions
Question: Can your spouse help you vote?
Answer: Yes, but only under certain circumstances. Voters can receive help if they:
- can't read or write
- have a physical disability that prevents them from reading or marking the ballot
- cannot speak english, or communicate only with sign language
voters may not be helped by their employer.
Question: What is a poll watcher and what rules do they have to follow?
Answer: Watchers can't simply show up. they must present a "certificate of appointment" that came from a political party, candidate or ballot measure group that appointed them. Poll watchers can observe officials count ballots. They can also observe the installation of voting machines. They can't talk to voters or election officials unless they are reporting a problem to an election official. They also can't bring recording devices into the polling place.
Question: Is it true that you can only submit your mail-in ballot at the drop box?
Answer: No, that's not true.
If you've been approved for and received a ballot by mail, you can either mail it in or you can drop it off at your county's designated mail-in ballot drop-off location.
Dropping off your mail-in ballot is simply an option.
Question: Can I correct a mistake with Wite-Out or by crossing out on my mail-in ballot?
Answer: We checked with local elections officials and they said voters cannot use whiteout on a mail-in ballot.
If you make a mistake, bubble the selection you want and put an "X" through the selection you don't want to make your vote clear.
Question: I received a mail-in ballot but have decided to vote in-person. What do I do with this ballot?
Answer: Elections officials said if you have been approved for and received a ballot by mail but choose to vote in person, then you must bring your mailed ballot to the polling place where you go to vote and surrender the mail-in ballot to the on-site elections administrator.
Question: Why can we not have a way to verify that our absentee ballot was received and accepted?
Answer: Some Texas counties, including Travis and Williamson, do let you track the status of your mail-in ballot online, using information like your birthday, driver's license number or voter ID number.
And don't forget, even though polling places close at 7 p.m. on Election Day, as long as you're in line before then, Texas election laws say you can still vote.
Once the polls close on Nov. 3, KVUE will keep track of the 2020 election results here. Mail-in ballots that are postmarked before Nov. 3 can be received by local elections offices by 5 p.m. the day after Election Day, so mail-in ballots in Texas are expected to take longer to tally.
Be sure to download KVUE's app to get updates as they come in: kvue.com/app. On the KVUE app, you can customize the type of content you would like to be notified about and see the most, including election and voting information. Find out how to customize KVUE's app here.
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