It has been a while since I provided any updates on Election Integrity. As most of you know, my attempt to obtain approval from the Commissioners Court to hand count paper ballots associated with the November 2023 constitutional election failed. With the low turnout, that election would have been ideal to gain experience and prove the viability of hand counting. Subsequently, we might have hand counted our ballots in the 2024 Republic Primary, except former Republican Party Chair, Paul Zohlen, without any discussion with the County Executive Committee (CEC), unilaterally signed an agreement with the Democrat Party Chair to conduct “joint elections” in the 2024 primary elections. This was the first time in Kerr County history that the Republican and Democrat Parties had a written agreement to conduct joint elections. However, it didn’t change the way the election was run, not one bit. The only reason for a joint election agreement was to take the decision on the voting system (i.e., the use of machines vs. hand counting paper ballots) away from the CEC as Paul was afraid that the CEC might have voted to hand count, just as the Gillespie County CEC did. Thank goodness Helen Herd is now our Republican County Chair. I am sure she would never circumvent the CEC on such an important matter. In light of the success that the Republican Party of Gillespie County experienced in hand counting their primary last year (they plan to do it again next year), I know that Helen and the CEC will at least consider hand counting ballots in our 2026 primary. I will certainly do anything I can to help them if they decide to hand count next year. As a “potential” candidate in the 2026 Republican primary, I certainly hope that a complete hand count will be carried out….
In the meantime, in an effort to convince other members of our commissioners court (and that of any other county wanting to enhance election integrity) to give hand counting a chance in a general election, I have been working on a compromise solution to give hand counting a chance to prove: 1. how easy it is, 2. how accurate it is, and 3. that it is a cost effective solution to expensive voting machines. That compromise solution is now in the form of a proposed amendment to the Texas Election Code under section 127.006 creating a new subsection (e) that I have submitted to some of the election integrity movers and shakers in the Texas legislature, including Senator Bob Hall, Senator Tan Parker, and Representative David Lowe. I have of course copied our Representative, Wes Virdell, in the hope that he will support the amendment if it comes up for a vote in the House.
The compromise concept is to carry out a “Complete Manual Count” post-Election Day. The main reason for this amendment is to find a compromise between using scanners to tabulate ballot results on Election Day (ED) while allowing a Complete Manual Count (CMC) of all paper ballots and all races in the next couple days after ED, but well in advance of the canvass deadline. In my opinion, the current manual count requirements under the election code are completely ineffective and need to be replaced using the full Chapter 65 hand count methodology as modified (but approved by the SOS) using the “Echo” procedure and numbered tally sheets that were developed by the Gillespie County Republican Party and successfully utilized in their hand count of their primary election last year. The next big obstacle in obtaining local approvals for a hand count is the cost. By my estimate, if we have to pay hand count volunteers the same hourly rate as election clerks or judges, the cost to complete a full manual count of Kerr County’s general election would be around $40,000. We already have more than enough volunteers to conduct the hand count, and none of them have any expectation of being paid to do so. Completing a hand count after Election Day provides a lot more flexibility around the number of hours we’re asking our volunteers to work and eliminates some of the concerns regarding secrecy of the results since they will have already been announced election night based on the electronic tabulator counts as usual. A CMC would only be mandatory if petitions are received form over 1% of the registered voters associated with the election being contested. One percent is more than enough volunteers to easily complete a CMC in short order.
By using scanners to tabulate ballots on Election Day and publish preliminary results as we have for many years, we eliminate any concerns about delaying results due to hand counting. Conducting a Complete Manual Count post-Election Day takes all the pressure off and allows us to easily complete the hand count over several days working reasonable hours in say two, four hour shifts each day till we have counted every ballot. We have 11 days after Election Day to finalize results and complete our Canvass. It still takes a lot of volunteers, but we had over 300 people who volunteered to hand count back in 2023 after attending one of the election integrity workshops or town hall meetings. By carrying out a Complete Manual Count of all ballots after Election Day, we establish a major deterrent to any attempt to manipulate election results via Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines or electronic scanners. We also gain invaluable experience and prove that hand counting can be done; easily, timely, accurately and far more cost effectively than using expensive electronic machines that can’t be trusted.
If you are wondering if there is anything you can do to help the cause, all you have to do is reach out to Senator Bob Hall, Senator Tan Parker, and Representative David Lowe and ask them to add the “Complete Manual Count post-Election Day” language to one of their election integrity amendments. You can find their emails below.
Tan.Parker@senate.texas.gov; David.Lowe@house.texas.gov; senatorbobhall@gmail.com
Also, if you attended any of the election integrity workshops, you would know that we should never trust the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) Voting Machines. So, I am pleased to inform you that this is now a lesser concern. Last July I met with County Clerk, Nadene Alford, to discuss my concerns about DREs. As a result of that meeting, our County Clerk instructed all election personnel, judges and clerks during their pre-election training to no longer offer DREs to voters, and instead only offer voters paper ballots (DREs were available but only used if requested). As a result of this simple change, during the Nov. ‘24 general election, only 833 voters used DREs. In comparison, in the ’22 general election 3893 voters cast ballots using DREs. Hence, we saw a reduction of 79% in the use of DREs from the 2022 general election, simply by not mentioning the option to use DREs and only offering paper ballots to voters. Quite an amazing improvement! I remain tuned in to see what our President and his new administration do to enhance federal election integrity. They are certainly aware of the importance of fair elections, and I have no doubt that we will see and hear much more about election fraud that has occurred in past elections and pray we see dramatic improvements to our entire election system to ensure its integrity.