League of Women Voters hands Hays County highest score in state

Hays County’s election website was rated the highest in the state by the League of Women’s Voters of Texas, the county announced Tuesday. 

The county’s website received 105 points in the LWV’s annual evaluation of county election websites, meeting standards for website security and compliance with legal requirements. The next closest county earned 94 points. 

“We’ve worked hard to improve and maintain our Elections website to ensure readability and easy access for our voters, and compliance with legal requirements,” Elections Administrator Jennifer Anderson said in a statement. “We’ve been in the ‘outstanding’ category of compliance for several years but have never before been recognized as first in the state.” 

Anderson gave credit to the Hays County Information Technology Department for its security practices and her staff, particularly Elections Technology Coordinator Cliff Ormiston. 

“Cliff has been instrumental in ensuring that required notices are placed correctly and prominently on our Elections site, and in Spanish as required,” Anderson said. “He ensures that our information is available on mobile devices and works with our vendors so that live results are posted quickly and in two different formats as ballots are counted on Election Day.”

Added Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe: “As we move closer to 2020 elections, it’s gratifying that our Elections staff understands what is required for all potential voters to have the information they need, and that our employees make that information accessible to all voters,”  

County Judge Ruben Becerra said security and transparency are top election priorities. 

“The ranking of our county at the top tells me we are heading in the right direction,” Becerra said in a statement. 

The League of Women Voters of Texas evaluates the state’s 254 county website and the Texas Secretary of State’s website based on election information criteria from the Center of Civic Design’s Designing election department website and the ElectionTools’ election website template. The League-trained volunteer reviewers also noted compliance with Texas’ new election laws HB 933 and HB 1241 that became effective this year.

“The 2020 election year is almost upon us, said Grace Chimene, president of the League of Women Voters of Texas. “Texas voters will be inundated with campaign messaging. Voters will look to their counties to find accurate, accessible, and useful voter information on safe and secure county election websites. Many counties need to take steps now to become a trusted resource for voters.”