Two-minute impact
In an Oct. 17 news conference, Teneshia Hudspeth, Harris County clerk and chief election official, said work was already underway to coordinate with election judges and verify signatures on thousands of mail-in ballots that have already been returned. Hudspeth delivered the conference from the county's new election headquarters on Morales Road.
The new headquarters is where the central count will take place on election night, Hudspeth said, and will serve as the county's headquarters for at least the next 10 years.
"For a very long time, Harris County elections have operated in many different facilities," she said. "Now we have our own home base. It allows plenty of space for all operations, and it will allow for a little bit of growth in the coming years."
With more than 700 voting centers expected to be operating on Election Day, the county will maintain remote sites where election judges can bring ballots, but having operations largely under one roof makes the process more secure as well as cost-effective, she said.
The context
The county is preparing for the Nov. 5 election under the watch of inspectors with the secretary of state's office, which announced in August plans for "enhanced" oversight of the election in Harris County.
At the Oct. 17 news conference, Hudspeth said she was "absolutely not concerned" about the state inspectors, noting the state also sent monitors for the November 2023 election.
The monitors have been tasked with performing checks on election records, observing the handling and counting of ballots and electronic media, and assisting Harris County during the election period, Community Impact previously reported. Monitors have toured the election headquarters and have given feedback on the training process for election officials, Hudspeth said.
"We look at this as a partnership to hold everyone accountable in the election process," she said. "This is a working dynamic. This is not a 'you're doing something' dynamic."
Digging in
The state has been paying closer attention to the elections in Harris County following issues in the November 2022 election related to polling centers running out of paper. Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson described the county's failure to estimate the amount of paper needed as a violation of election law in a preliminary audit report released in 2023.
District Attorney Kim Ogg would later indict an election worker in charge of allocating paper ballots, but Ogg also found no effort by either political party to sway the results of the election.
Heading into the Nov. 5 election, Hudspeth said the county has prepared for high turnout in several ways:
- Purchasing additional voting equipment
- Testing all equipment tested prior to early voting
- Completing a software upgrade to reduce the amount of paper voting centers have to use
- Ordering "more than an abundance of paper"
"If there is a need for paper, it will be there within minutes of time," Hudspeth said.
What readers should know
Hudspeth said she anticipates roughly 70% of ballots to be cast during the early voting period, and possibly more.
"We really have overallocated for this election expecting that it would be a huge turnout," she said.
While the county has enough poll workers for early voting, officials are still recruiting for Election Day, Hudspeth said. Learn more about what's on the ballot and how to become a poll worker at www.harrisvotes.com.
