Hou Chronicle by Taylor Goldenstein 11/13/2022
10,000 mail ballots rejected in large Texas counties as new ID requirement is phased in
More than 10,000 ballots were rejected in the state’s largest counties in Tuesday’s midterm election, making for a rejection rate of about 4 percent, according to preliminary data counties reported to the secretary of state's office.
That’s a vast improvement from the March primary that immediately followed the passage of a Republican-backed election overhaul bill that added a new ID requirement for voting by mail that continues to confuse voters. More than 24,000, or 12 percent, of primary mail ballots were thrown out across the state.
Still, the 4 percent mail-ballot rejection rate is more than double the less than 2 percent tossed in Texas in the last midterm election in 2018.
“There is definitely room to lower rejection rates even more, but the trends we’ve seen since the primary show major improvements across the state, and show the rejection rates are moving in the right direction,” secretary of state's office spokesman Sam Taylor said. “This was the 4th statewide election with the new ID requirements for mail-in ballots in place, so voters were more familiar with the process generally.”
The number of ballots rejected may decrease as some voters visit their local county clerk's office to make corrections to their ballots to fix errors by the Monday deadline. The rate was calculated based on most of the state's 18 largest counties, which accounted for 65 percent of the statewide vote.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/election/2022/article/New-Texas-law-leads-to-10-000-rejected-mail-17577757.php
