Texas Secretary of State John Scott is a guest on this week's Lone Star Politics and says a lot of work has been done leading up to the polls opening.
“Our election administration division does them on an ongoing basis with webinars, issues that arise. But we also do seminars, major seminars with each of the groups that are putting on the elections. The elections administrators and county clerks who actually put on our elections,” said Scott.
Scott talked about his team's role as early voting begins across the state on Monday.
“If we see something that is going on in a place, we may increase the number of inspectors," Scott said.
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"I think in the 2020 election, Harris County, for instance, had about four or five [inspectors] for ... about 750 voting locations on Election Day, probably about 90 early voting locations throughout the county," Scott said.
Earlier this week it was announced that Scott's office was sending more inspectors to Harris County. A Democratic-leaning county that is also the state's most populous.
The agency's director of the secretary of state’s forensic audit division, Chad Ennis, informed Harris County inspectors would be arriving to “perform randomized checks on election records” and “observe the handling and counting of ballots and electronic media.”
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Here in North Texas, NBC 5 has spoken to elections administrators who said they are prepared for Decision 2022.
“We are in a good spot. We got our poll workers, we got our supplies. The equipment has been tested, sealed, packed. It's being deployed right now, so we are where we are supposed to be at this point in time," said Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia.
We have heard a lot about poll watchers who will be at polling locations. They have to be appointed and trained, and can’t talk to voters.
“The poll watchers are entitled to have free movement within a polling place. The only exception to that free movement is they can’t watch a person voting their ballot, obviously, with one exception. If the election officials working at the location are physically assisting a voter to vote their ballot at the machine, then a poll watcher can observe that part of their process,” said Collin County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet.
Early Voting begins on Monday, and runs through Nov. 4. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
IMPORTANT ELECTION DATES
Oct. 24 - First day of early voting
Nov. 4 - Last day of early voting
Nov. 8 - Election Day and the last day to receive a ballot by mail that is not postmarked (7 p.m.).
Nov. 9 (5 p.m.) - Last day to receive a ballot by mail that was postmarked by 7 p.m. on Nov. 8
