Help Hays County make every vote count

As the upcoming election season approaches, local officials are raising awareness regarding recent changes to the voteby-mail process.

State legislation passed in 2021 put forward new identification requirements for voting by mail, requiring a driver’s license or Social Security number. In the February primaries, these changes — and those unaware of them — resulted in the rejection of hundreds of mail-in ballots across the state. In Hays County, 30% of the mail-in ballots submitted by Feb. 10 had not filled out the mandatory ID requirement, according to Hays County Elections Administrator Jennifer Doinoff.

“We usually have a very low rejection rate, so it’s not something we want to see in Hays County,” Doinoff said.

Doinoff said she wants voters to be more aware of changes to the process and how to complete the ballot and carrier (return) envelope correctly to ensure all ballots are accepted. The first step is to determine whether someone qualifies for a voteby-mail ballot.

“To vote by mail in Texas you must qualify under one of the following categories,” she said. “Eligibility includes being age 65 or older, disabled (or have an illness) in a manner that prevents you from entering a polling location without injury to yourself, expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day and being confined in a jail or civilly committed but otherwise eligible to vote.”

If a voter meets any of those criteria, Doinoff said they can request her office send a vote-by-mail ballot to their home address.

One of the most important aspects of the new process is that voters need to fill out the application completely, she explained.

“New voting laws require a ballot by mail voter to include their Texasissued ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security Number on the Application for Ballot by Mail Form,” Doinoff said. “The numbers provided must match [all of] the numbers on the voter’s registration file to be accepted.”

Many voters have both their ID and last four SSN digits on their voter registration file.

“We recommend entering both your Texasissued ID and the last four of your Social Security Number on the application just to be safe,” Doinoff said. “You can also call the Hays County Election Office at (512) 393-7310 to see what we have on file for you.”

She noted that the ID and SSN numbers will need to be entered on the voter’s application as well as on the ballot carrier envelope, which comes along with the ballot.

“After you complete your ballot,” Doinoff said, “place it in the secrecy envelope then place that in the carrier envelope, which is white with a purple stripe. Before you seal the carrier envelope, lift the flap and fill in the blanks under the “Required Information” section.”

This was a step that some voters missed during the primary and the information helps identify that the voter is the same person that requested the ballot, Doinoff said.

“Once the voter has completed this portion of the carrier envelope, they can seal the flap, sign over the flap in the red box and mail the ballot back to the Hays County Election Office,” she said. “Both the ID number and the signature are required for the ballot to be accepted.”

While it may require more information, new legislation also offers voters the opportunity to correct any defects on their ballot in enough time to be counted.

“Make sure you include your phone number and email address under the flap so we can contact you if you need to make a correction on your ballot envelope,” she said. “The Elections Office, or the Early Voting Ballot Board, can contact you to certify your ID or sign your ballot should you forget those items before your submission.”

To correct a ballot envelope, voters can visit their election office (within six days after Election Day) to certify their ID information, visit votetexas. gov and click “Track My Ballot” (within six days after Election Day) to certify their ID information or cancel their mail-in ballot and vote in person.

Annual vote-by-mail applicants can apply every year in January to receive ballots for that year. Ballots must be received by the Hays County Elections Office by 5 p.m. the day after Election Day and postmarked no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

“Our goal is to help all eligible vote-by-mail users to better understand the process,” Doinoff said. “Knowing this information will ensure that your ballot is accepted and counted in a timely manner.”