Warning signs

Primary runoffs went well, but officials must prepare now to avoid an Election Day disaster.

Can elections be held safely during a pandemic? This month’s primary runoffs showed that it can be done, but they also revealed vulnerabilities in voting systems that creaked under a million voters and may simply give way as 10 times as many cast their ballots in November.

If we are to avoid an Election Day disaster in the fall, the challenges we face will require everyone — from Congress to voters — to do their part starting now.

As run-throughs go, the July 14 runoffs were a success, mostly thanks to local election officials throughout the state who prioritized safety and were prepared for an increase in voting by mail.

Voters had a much different experience at the polls than during the March primaries, this time casting their ballots wearing masks and finger covers, and maintaining social distancing while standing in line and at voting machines.

Runoff elections usually draw only a sliver of the electorate to the polls on Election Day, but even that fraction was winnowed — lessening the risk of in-person voting — by actions such as Harris County’s mass mailing of absentee ballot request forms to all registered voters 65 and older, as well as Gov. Greg Abbott’s extension of the early voting period.

These measures must continue and expand. Harris County had 57 early voting locations for the runoff, a record number, and plans to have even more open for the upcoming election.

“What most voters care about are convenient locations, avoiding long lines, quick reporting of results and, in our current world, safety,” County Clerk Chris Hollins told the editorial board. “On those levels, we were successful.”

But local officials are going to need all the help they can get in November, experts said. Turnout for the runoff was about 6 percent of registered voters. The 2016 election brought out almost 60 percent of the electorate.

Texas avoided the election debacles that plagued some other states dealing with pandemic voting, including long lines and unsafe conditions, but warning signs are clear.

Some voters who wanted to vote by mail never received their absentee ballot or got it too late for them to feel comfortable mailing it back. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Other voters said they mailed in their ballots, but they were lost, while others were returned unopened.

Voters testing positive for COVID-19 or under quarantine were also left with limited options. Texas law allows someone who became ill after the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot to receive an emergency ballot, but they must have a doctor’s note. With medical personnel stretched thin under the pandemic, filling out forms is not the best use of a doctor’s time, yet a judge denied Harris County’s request to substitute the medical excuse with a sworn statement by the voter, as well as the option for sick voters to receive and return their ballots via email.

Ensuring the November election runs smoothly starts at the federal level, where Congress must include additional funding for election needs as part of any upcoming COVID-19 relief legislation. Lawmakers approved $400 million back in March, but experts say it will take an additional $3.6 billion to safeguard elections.

Congress must also guarantee that mail-in ballots are handled in a timely fashion by supporting the U.S. Postal Service, which recently said all mail may be delayed as part of cost-cutting measures.

Gov. Abbott did the right thing in increasing the early voting period. State officials must now eliminate the ambiguity over who is eligible to vote by mail, which state officials insist remains limited to those 65 or older or who have a valid excuse. Harris County officials have said they’ll not challenge voters who decide fear of COVID-19 is reason enough to vote by mail, but it is unacceptable that Texas doesn’t make clear that absentee ballots are widely available during the pandemic. Texas is an embarrassing outlier as most other states respond to the pandemic by allowing anyone who wants to vote by mail to do so.

Harris County Commissioners Court has already approved up to $12 million for mail ballots. Its support should continue as the county clerk brings the department’s budget for review in the next few weeks.

Finally, voters must take advantage of alternative voting methods. Whether that’s through early voting or requesting an absentee ballot, the goal should be to keep Election Day voting to a minimum.

Casting a ballot is a constitutional right, the cornerstone of our political system and the obligation of every eligible citizen. To protect voting is to safeguard democracy. And that’s a job for all of us.