Northwoods UU Issues Resource Links: VOTING

MAIL BALLOT REJECTIONS

| Mail Ballot Tracking tool (Harris County) | Ballot by Mail Tracker (TX Secretary of State) [all 254 counties] | How to apply to vote by mail |
  • Despite mail voting changes, ballot rejections remain relatively low in 2022 midterms
    By Ashley Lopez, NPR.org | Updated January 13, 2023 2:43 PM ET |
    QUOTE FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:
    "In some cases, however, these new rules did lead to a sharp rise in ballot rejections. For example, after new ID requirements went into effect in Texas, the state had an unprecedented share of mail ballots rejected in the following election. During the state's March primary last year, more than 12% of mail ballots were rejected. The overwhelming share of those ballots were tossed out because voters completely missed the part of the return envelope that required a driver's license number or partial Social Security number. This was a stark increase from previous elections. In 2020, Texas had a 0.8% mail ballot rejection rate; in 2018 it was 1.7%. During the 2022 general election, though, the statewide mail ballot rejection rate in Texas was 2.7% — higher than other states but far lower than the primaries. State officials attribute the drop to design changes to the ballot and efforts to educate voters."
  • Texas officials say they're rejecting fewer mail ballots than the primary's big spike
    NPR By Ashley Lopez, NPR (as seen on the Texas Public Radio site [Texas Public Radio operates seven non-commercial radio stations.]) | November 6, 2022 at 8:00 AM CST |

    2022 March 1 Democratic & Republican Primary Elections
  • Nearly 25,000 mail ballots were rejected in Texas primaries, fueled by confusion over new restrictions
    Taylor Goldenstein, Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau | April 6, 2022 Updated: April 6, 2022 6:24 p.m. |

  • Texas threw out an extraordinary number of mail votes in 2022 primary, AP finds
    By Paul J. Weber and Acacia Coronado, Associated Press as seen on Chicago Tribune.com | March 16, 2022 1:25 PM |

  • At least 18,000 Texas mail-in votes were rejected in the first election under new GOP voting rules In just 16 of the state’s largest counties, more than 18,000 mail-in ballots were rejected, most for failing to meet the new law’s ID requirements. A full statewide tally isn’t yet available.
    By Alexa Ura and Mandi Cai, Texas Tribune | March 11, 2022 Updated: 2 PM Central |
    SNIPPET FROM THIS ARTICLE: "The impact of the ID requirements was particularly pronounced in several larger counties, including Harris and Bexar. Votes lost to the ID rules accounted for 99.6% of rejections in Harris County, which reported an overall rejection rate of roughly 19% among ballots that were received in time. By contrast, the county's rejection rate in the 2018 primary was .3%."

  • 40% fewer mail ballots cast in Texas early voting amid confusion, delays caused by new law
    By Cayla Harris, Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau | February 27, 2022 Updated: Feb. 28, 2022 6:10 p.m. |
  • Hundreds of MAIL-IN BALLOTS are being returned to Texas voters because they don’t comply with new voting law: Local elections officials say an unexpectedly large number of ballots for the March primary are being initially rejected for lacking newly required ID information.
    By Alexa Ura, Texas Tribune staff | February 10, 2022 4 PM Central |
  • Hundreds of MAIL-IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS are being rejected under Texas' new voting rules: Texas Republicans last year enacted new identification requirements for voting by mail as part of sweeping legislation that further restricted the state’s voting process and narrowed local control of elections.
    By Alexa Ura, Texas Tribune staff | January 13, 2022 6 PM Central |

    How to apply to vote by mail |
  • NOTE: To vote by mail, you must apply EACH YEAR.

    I apply in the first week of January and mark that I want mailed ballots for ALL elections held this calendar year. To vote in a party primary, you must check WHICH party's ballot to send to you.

    To fill out the application to vote by mail, you need your Texas Driver's License or your Social Security number. There is also a box to check if you do not have either document. The Election Administrator will now write you a letter to let you know that your application for a mail-in ballot cannot be processed without one of these two ID numbers.

    PLUS you need your voter registration certificate to look up the VUID number listed. If you have lost yours, you may also look up your voter registration certificate online:

    Voter Registration Search (Harris County)
    Voter Registration Lookup (Montgomery County, Texas)
    Voter registration certificates are valid for two years. The one I have now is valid through December 2022. I should receive a new one shortly which is good from January 1, 2022 through December 2023. The VUID number does not change from year to year.

    I send my application for a mail ballot in via certified mail (which is not required but is good for my peace of mind) so that I know when the envelope safely reaches its destination. Then you can use the Mail Ballot Tracker tool (if you live in Harris County) to see if your application was accepted OK.

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