Voting proceeds aboard ‘roller coaster’

TheNov. 3 elections have generated several surprises and changes in an already lengthy ballot, Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen said this week.

“We’ve been on a roller coaster for this election,” having had to “reprogram everything” to add three Green Party candidates to the ballot under a recent court ruling, she said.

Andthe elections department is waiting on a final resolution of a lawsuit seeking reinstatement of the straight-ticket voting option — a change Callanen said could leave everyone having to calculate their own vote totals on election night, with several sets of numbers being posted separately.

“What we told the secretary of state was, just basically, ‘Get ready for lawsuits.’ Because with so many people adding up so many numbers, people were going to get different numbers,” she said.

The latest news on straight-ticket voting came Wednesday, as a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld 2017 state law that ends the popular practice for this year’s general election. The law has been challenged by Democratic groups and the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans.

Callanen said Thursday she’s waiting to see if that ruling is appealed, while also monitoring a lawsuit filed by Texas Republicans over Gov. Greg Abbott’s order extending the early voting period by six days during the pandemic.

“It’s election season. It’s the most litigious we’ve seen in a long time. And we don’t think it’s going to be over on Election Day,” she said.

One concern voters are asking about, amid a swirl of rumors and misinformation, relates to “naked ballots” that are mailed back in an exterior yellow envelope that voters sign by a red “X” on the seal. Inside that envelope, the ballots are placed inside a “white secrecy envelope.” Some states won’t accept “naked ballots,” butTexas has a process for them to be counted, Callanen said.

“We will accept it. We have procedures in place to protect the voter, to protect their ballot,” she said.

The county already has received several thousand mail-in ballots via the U.S. Postal Service andfrompeople who have dropped them off in person at the elections office at 1103 S. Frio St. Callanen said the county is sending mail ballot applications to all people who are 65 or older who are registered to vote.

Once completed, the application must arrive in person or by mail at the elections office no later than Oct. 23. The ballot itself must be received by 7 p.m. Election Day, Nov. 3, if the carrier envelope is not postmarked or by 5 p.m. Nov. 4 if the carrier envelope is postmarkedby 7p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day, according to state law. There are later deadlines for certain overseas and military voters.

Callanen noted that voter registration for the Nov. 3 election continues through Monday. Registration forms sent by mail must be postmarked by that day. The elections department will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with extended hours Monday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., to process an expected late rush of registration forms.

As of Friday, Bexar County had 1,166,683 registered voters — more than 117,000 beyond the number in the 2016 election, or more than an 11 percent increase. That was more than 1,138 in just over a day after it had been running 300 to 400 per day.

Early voting is set for Oct. 13 through Oct. 30 at 48 sites countywide.

“Masks are not required. But we’re asking people to wear them as a sign of respect. The polls will be busy,” Callanen said. “We want everybody to stay as safe as possible. And more importantly, we want people to respect each other.”