As early voting ends and with Election Day just around the corner, the Dallas County elections office said there are fewer mail-in ballots being rejected for the 2022 general election compared to this year’s primaries.
As of Thursday, about 1.4% – or 280 ballots – out of more than 28,000 were rejected.
Nick Solorzano, communications manager for Dallas County elections, said that’s a “significant” drop.
“We saw a lot of issues early on,” Solorzano said. “We did a pretty aggressive education campaign outreach to get a bunch of those corrected.”
The trend is occurring in other parts of Texas as well. Harris County, the state’s largest county, also saw a significant drop in rejections.
Counties across the state saw an increase in mail-in ballot rejections during the March primaries after the passage of Senate Bill 1. The law requires people who vote by mail to include a driver’s license or social security number in their application, but the number must match the data a person submitted when they originally registered.
Critics of the law say the requirements are confusing and meant to disenfranchise voters.
More than 12% of mail-in ballots — or almost 25,000 votes — were rejected statewide during the primaries.
Only voters who qualify can vote by mail – including elderly, disabled and incarcerated voters.
Election Day is Tuesday.
Got a tip? Email Pablo Arauz Peña at parauzpena@kera.org
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
