DFW News App

A handful of bills altering election policies and processes were passed in the Texas Legislature, and Valley county election administrators are awaiting guidance on how to apply them.

At least six bills are making changes to the election playbook in Texas.

Cameron County and Hidalgo County elections administrators have their sights set on the 42nd annual Election Law Seminar to know exactly what to know to be in compliance with the new laws.

The conference is slated for Aug. 12-14 in Austin.

There, elections administrators from across the state will be trained on the new legislation by the Texas Secretary of State. They will learn about implementation procedures, election integrity standards and new voting technology.

PROTECTING ELECTION WORKERS

One bill provides election workers in Texas with more privacy. This bill means to protect election workers from potential harassment.

The legislation creates additional confidentiality protections for election workers and allows them to suppress their personal information, from phone numbers to home addresses.

These protections cover county clerks, elections administrators, election judges, election committee members, counting station workers, and tabulation supervisors and their assistants.

“It makes information less accessible for those with ill intentions,” said Remi Garza, Cameron County elections administrator. “This is just one more layer of protection for election officials and the people who are working elections.”

This change does raise some questions about ensuring transparency and accountability from election officials and workers, but Garza said the former will still be reachable at their offices.

ELECTION SCHEDULING DEADLINE

Another new bill aims to tackle low voter turnout by extending the deadline for cities and other political subdivisions, excluding counties, to move general elections from May to November in odd-numbered years.

Cameron County and Hidalgo County election officials have pledged to keep residents informed on election scheduling.

The rescheduling isn’t mandated, but does allow the opportunity to synchronize local elections with the statewide November date.

TABULATION TESTING

One piece of new legislation enhances testing protocol for voting tabulation equipment and expands oversight, with the goal of strengthening election integrity. This bill mandates that multiple tests must be performed on voting equipment, both before and after ballot counting has commenced.

The bill’s purpose is to make logic-and-accuracy testing and equipment validation more reliable and trustworthy.

It strengthens these protocols by expanding voting equipment testing coverage and introducing hash-validation requirements. Additionally, it moves the testing window to at least 48 days before Election Day.

Both Cameron and Hidalgo counties routinely showcase their logic and accuracy testing publicly in an effort to assure transparency with voters, and notify the public prior to the tests to encourage viewership.

VOTING EQUIPMENT SECURITY

Then there’s security.

Another bill introduces record-keeping protocol, which has been implemented routinely in the past, but this bill puts it in writing.

It mandates the placement of security seals on election equipment, preventing unauthorized access, and requires detailed logs for every single time those seals are removed, stating by whom, when and for what purpose.

It also outlines voting equipment storage within locked rooms, when not in use, as well as enhances inventory reporting requirements to be more detailed.

ENHANCED TRANSPARENCY AND OVERSIGHT

Legislators were also focused on transparency and oversight.

Another bill mandates that counties must share a report which compares total votes cast to individual voters, broken down by time period and precinct, within 30 days after Election Day.

Additionally, this legislation will require voter acceptance devices to timestamp each vote cast.

EARLY VOTING SCHEDULING

While some legislation, another bill faced national controversy as election officials across the country have voiced concern regarding the tightening of transitions between early voting and Election Day preparations.

The goal of this bill is to streamline early voting logistics as well as simplify the ballot-casting experience, but some election personnel fear it could potentially result in delays and strain voting staff.

The bill also requires all early voting day locations to serve as Election Day polling locations.

Additionally, it adjusts the timeline of early voting, shifting the period to run 12 days prior to Election Day, continuing until the day before.

The early voting period will also include weekends and holidays, with the exception of uniform May elections.

During even-year May elections, early voting will begin the ninth day prior to Election Day, and conclude the day before.

This bill also outlines that early voting by personal appearance ballots will be treated identically to Election Day ballots, meaning they will be tabulated, tallied, and reported together in the same manner.

CONCERN AND CONFUSION?

Like any new legislation — particularly with elections — concerns or confusion are not unusual.

“Truly, there are going to be a lot of changes, but they’re mainly internal type changes,” said Hilda A. Salinas, Hidalgo County elections administrator.

Salinas says voters should watch for any updates and needed information through various county sources, including social media, media events, and the commissioners court.

She also shared a direct line for any Hidalgo resident to dial when in need of answers regarding elections: (956) 318-2570.

“Call us, ask us, we will be able to help you out,” assured Salinas.

In Cameron County, Garza can be reached at (956) 544-0809.

The post Valley election administrators await guidance on new laws appeared first on MyRGV.com.