Secretary of State Jane Nelson released election audits for the 2021-22 election cycle conducted in four selected counties.
“Texas’ audit process provides accountability and insight into how elections are conducted on a county level to ensure the integrity of our elections,” said Secretary Nelson. “While each audit is specific to a county, they include lessons for election officials across the state and offer voters the reassurance that our state’s election processes are thoroughly reviewed.” In 2021, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 1 into law, which included a provision requiring the Office of the Secretary of State to conduct audits in four randomly selected counties.
The four counties evaluated for the 2021-2022 election period are:
Harris key findings:
- In defiance of state law, Harris County failed to estimate and issue the required amount of ballot paper resulting in interruptions in voting in at least 19 polling locations in the November 2022 Election.
- Harris County failed to properly train its election workers to operate new voting equipment, resulting in widespread voting equipment failures in multiple elections.
- Harris County did not follow state law establishing proper voter roll maintenance activities. Harris County failed to keep an accurate list of registered voters in their county records, which has since been addressed and corrected.
- In numerous elections, required paperwork from polling locations was incomplete and failed to meet the requirements outlined in law.
Although Harris County has since made changes to its election administration, the findings highlighted in this audit and the prior audit show that an enhanced presence by the Secretary’s office is necessary for the November 2024 election. The Secretary of State will assign state inspectors to Harris County to perform checks on election records, including tapes and chain-of-custody, and will observe the handling and counting of ballots and electronic media during the November 2024 election period. Additionally, staff from the Secretary’s Elections Division will be present to assist Harris County for the duration of the election period from early voting, to Election Day, and through tabulation.
Cameron key findings:
- Cameron County developed an in-depth election worker training program that provides both legal and procedural training, as well as hands-on training with all election equipment.
- The county did not report the appropriate information to the statewide system for the rejected mail ballot applications in 2022, which was a new requirement. A review of elections conducted since the audit period indicates that Cameron County is now in compliance.
Guadalupe key findings:
- The county elections staff routinely conducts post-election assessments of all processes and procedures. As part of the process, the county addressed self-identified areas of needed improvement and embarked on the development of an interactive curriculum for the community that became known as the Citizens Election Academy.
- Guadalupe County has developed an extensive policies and procedures manual that details the procedural expectations of employees and their assigned functions.
Eastland key findings:
- After reviewing multiple elections, it is evident that Eastland County has made a considerable effort to improve their process and procedure with each election. Specifically, the evolution of their chain of custody forms demonstrates the county’s effort to improve their tracking of election technology and supplies.
- The county training program should include more detailed instructions and written documentation related to the responsibilities of a presiding judge, as the materials did not prepare election judges with adequate instruction.
Ahead of the November 2023 Constitutional Amendment Election, the Secretary’s office released a preliminary audit of Harris County in order to bring attention to alarming issues with elections administration that needed to be addressed immediately.
In response to widespread election administration failures in Harris County, Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 1750 into law in 2023. The law dissolved the office of the Elections Administrator in Harris County, returned voter registration duties to the Tax Assessor-Collector, and returned election duties to the County Clerk. Though neither of these offices were responsible for the elections that occurred during the audited period, both offices have cooperated with the audit team.
Texas law requires that of the four counties selected for audits, two must be large-population counties (300,000 or more) and two must be small-population (less than 300,000).
