LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Listening to the news the other day, I was disappointed to learn that there was some incorrect information circulating about the security and accuracy of voting. As somebody who has been a volunteer election worker here in San Marcos for the last 15 years, I can report firsthand that voting—whether by mail or in person—is safe, it’s secure, and it’s accurate.
This couldn’t be more important as we get closer to very competitive City Council elections in November and next year’s Primary and midterm Congressional elections. And next year’s elections will be held against a backdrop of significant and unanticipated changes in Congressional districts here in Hays County and across the state. So trust in the electoral process is more important than ever.
Free and Fair elections are an expectation and a right. And the Constitution is clear that Congress and the states share authority in this matter. The Constitution provides no role for the President in the administration of the electoral process. His role, like that of most every other citizen, is limited to candidate and voter.
And those who work to protect the electoral process have done a commendable job. In the area of mail ballots, increasingly important in a society with a growing number of older voters, there are a multitude of ballot protections. These include ensuring that the voter is eligible to vote by mail, signature verification, the use of multiple sealed envelopes, safeguards against duplicate ballots, and additional identification factors that have been added by the state of Texas over the last several years.
Every mail ballot is examined by a bipartisan panel of local citizen volunteers— the Early Voting Ballot Board—to be sure the ballot meets all requirements and was returned by the voter requesting it. Last November, the Board checked each of the almost 5,000 mail ballots received. The process is videostreamed live on the Hays County Election Office website, and no individual may handle a ballot without other members of the Board present. Working over the years with Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and non-partisan volunteers, I have yet to see a fraudulent mail ballot.
Voting machines? Ditto! There are multiple fail-safe processes. These include pre-election logic and accuracy tests to be sure that equipment programming is correct—establishing that the equipment is accurately capturing the voter’s choice and precisely tabulating the results. There are also hand-conducted postelection tests, where the ballots scanned into tabulating equipment, including mail ballots, are handchecked against ballots scanned and tallied by the equipment. This is a lengthy and exacting process. To enhance security and underline the impartiality of the process, the choice of which ballots to check (a particular precinct, contest, or polling location) is not made locally. Rather, this is a function of the Texas Secretary of State’s Elections Division.
Machines are tested before voting begins and, again, when voting ends to ensure that there were no votes recorded on a machine prior to its use in an election and that all postelection data—paper tapes and electronic counters— match. In addition, seals placed on t voting equipment when it is placed into service for a particular election are checked against the seals on the machines when the voting has ended and tabulation of that machine begins. Voter sign-in records at polling locations are not linked to voting machines. This is critical to verifying that the number of voters who signed-in matches the number of voters who cast ballots. After the close of an election, balloting materials are maintained under lock and key for 22 months, in accordance with strict requirements of the Texas Election Code. Beyond this, it is worth noting that voting machines used by Hays County voters are not linked to the Internet.
Texas law is specific about the standards governing voting machines themselves. Among other requirements, a voting system may not be used unless it: It’s worth noting that three recent lawsuits questioning the validity of voting machine results were settled on behalf of the equipment manufacturers. There were no findings of any fraudulent activity.
Election security processes and their associated tests are advertised and open to the public. Every aspect of the election procedure welcomes real-time review by poll watchers designated by and acting on behalf of political parties, candidates, and both proponents and opponents of ballot initiatives.
Election workers take their jobs seriously and do their very best to secure ballot safety, security, and accuracy.
Sincerely, Jon Leonard San Marcos
