Texas SOS calls on Travis County to correct erroneous mail ballot application rejections

AUSTIN — Texas Secretary of State John Scott today issued the following statement after the Travis County Clerk’s office announced yesterday that it had rejected an unusually large percentage of applications for a ballot by mail for the March 1 Primary Election:

“We were surprised to learn for the first time of the apparent wholesale rejection of mail ballot applications by Travis County. Our office’s role to each county, including Travis County, is to be available to provide advice and assistance on implementation of Texas election law upon request. Nevertheless, Travis County made the decision to reject these mail ballot applications before contacting our office. We call on Travis County to immediately review and re-examine the mail ballot applications in question to determine whether they were processed in accordance with state law, with the goal of reinstating and minimizing any disruption to eligible voters who have properly submitted their application for ballot by mail. We anxiously await the results of their re-processing of these mail ballot applications.”

“We urge all county election officials to contact the Texas Secretary of State’s office to seek advice and assistance on the correct method of processing mail ballot applications.”

Eligible voters who want to track their mail-in ballot applications to their respective county Early Voting Clerks can use the recently launched Ballot by Mail Tracker, available on the Texas Secretary of State’s ‘My Voter Portal.’

Through the Ballot by Mail Tracker, voters are able to see whether or not their application for a ballot by mail was accepted or rejected, and can correct any mismatched identification information by following the prompts in the tracker.

Under Texas law, you are only eligible to vote by mail if you are:

• 65 years or older;
• Sick or disabled;
• Out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance;
• Expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day; or
• Confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.