Texas

Elections in Texas are overseen by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, who serves as the chief election officer of the state. The Secretary of State’s office provides guidance and support to county election officials, enforces election laws, and certifies election results.
Texas Election System

Frequently Asked Questions

Members of the Pillars of the Community have asked the following questions about Harris County’s election system. Here is what the county says about voting and elections. In future meetings, the Pillars and election officials will continue to discuss and explore these topics in detail.


Is voting by mail reliable?

There are multiple safeguards in place to ensure the security of voting by mail. When your completed Vote by Mail ballot is received at the elections office, it goes through a rigorous validation system.

  • When received, the Carrier Envelope is verified for signature authentication, logged, scanned, and securely stored. 
  • The election department delivers Mail Ballots to the Early Voting Ballot Board (EVBB). To determine whether to accept or reject the ballot, the EVBB compares the voter’s signature on the Vote by Mail ballot return envelope with the signature from the Vote by Mail application and/or voter registration application.
  • Vote by Mail ballots accepted by the Early Voting Ballot Board are prepared for counting, placed in secured sealed containers and stored in a locked area which is monitored by cameras until the election concludes. By law, ballots may only be retrieved and counted after the early voting period ends. On Election Day, all Vote by Mail ballots are tabulated and submitted into the unofficial record.
  • Once a completed Vote by Mail ballot has been returned, you cannot vote via a regular ballot in person.
  • Voters can check online whether their Vote By Mail ballot was mailed or received through the Harris County Clerk’s Mail Ballot Tracker.

What security measures are in place to protect my vote?

Texas employs multiple layers of security to protect votes:

  • Voter registration databases are secured and continuously monitored. Individuals accessing the Statewide Voter Registration and Election Management System are required to complete annual security training to maintain access to the system.
  • Processes are established in Texas law to periodically cull the voter rolls of inactive voters and those who have died or moved.
  • Texas state law requires voters to present an approved photo ID. Other acceptable forms of identification, like a bank statement or utility bill, are permissible if completing a Reasonable Impediment Declaration demonstrating an acceptable Photo ID cannot be reasonably obtained.
  • State and county elections officials are in regular communication with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal authorities regarding cybersecurity and other election-related threats.
  • Certified voting systems are not connected to the internet to reduce cybersecurity risks.
  • Encryption and other protective technologies are used, and frequent independent assessments are conducted to confirm system integrity.
  • State and county authorities inspect, test and secure tabulation equipment prior to each election.
  • Harris County utilizes paper ballots. Voters utilize an intuitive touch screen electronic machine that prints an easy-to-read summary of voter choices for verification, and the scanner counts votes directly from this summary.

Is it possible for someone to vote more than once?

The voter registration system in Texas has multiple checks and balances to detect and prevent duplicate voting. The system tracks and flags any attempts to vote more than once.

Can non-citizens vote in elections?

It is illegal for non-U.S. citizens to register to vote. The Texas Election Code and the Secretary of State provide all county election officials measures which are in place to prevent non-citizens from voting. When registering to vote, Texans must attest to being a U.S. citizen. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office regularly obtains data from the Department of Public Safety (DPS), Texas courts and other agencies to identify non-citizens and compare the data to the statewide voter registration database. County voter registrars are also required to review their voter registration records and send notices to any voter the registrar reasonably believes is not eligible for registration, including due to non-citizenship.

Are voting machines accurate?

Texas’ election code prescribes specific steps that are taken each election to ensure the accuracy of the vote count. First, voting machines in Texas are never connected to the internet. Second, only the software certified by the Texas Secretary of State can be loaded onto voting equipment. Third, all voting machines in Texas are tested for logic and accuracy three times – twice before the election, and once immediately after the election. 

Additionally, poll workers are required by law to maintain a detailed chain of custody log for each voting machine. All tabulation equipment in Harris County is kept in a secure, restricted area that is sealed with locks and unique serial numbers.

Can voters trust the outcome of Texas elections?

While no system is perfect, Texas has layers of safeguards in place to ensure accurate and fair elections.

When are early and mail-in ballots counted?

By law, early votes cast before Election Day — during the early voting period by personal appearance or by mail — are counted on Election Day, and the results released to the public at 7:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter. 

Why does it take so long to count votes in Harris County?

Texas law requires ballots to be counted no later than 24 hours after polls close on Election Day. The results from Early Voting are reported first. In 2020, ballots cast during the early voting period by personal appearance and by mail comprised 88% of all votes cast in the election. The early voting cumulative election results were made public shortly after polls closed at 7 pm on Election Night. So, the question, “Why does it take so long to count votes in Harris County?” insinuates an assertion that is not accurate. 

Historically, the geographic size of a jurisdiction, the size of its electorate, the number of polling locations, the complexity of voting equipment used in the conduct of an election, the administrative close poll procedures that ensure the integrity of the results and the varied poll workers labor pace determine how fast election officials are able to meet the 24-hour deadline to report the complete unofficial election results. 

Texas News & Updates

Texas Election News

Texas

Houston Chronicle: Why we trust county clerk to hold a fair, secure election

Pillars of the Community participant Bill King writes an op-ed about his trust in Harris County elections. Because of issues and controversies that arose in the 2020 and 2022 elections…
November 4, 2024
Texas

KHOU: ‘Public confidence is a priority’ | Harris County tests voting equipment ahead of general election

Victor Jacobo of KHOU reports on its public testing of its voting equipment to test the accuracy of the equipment and build voter confidence. Harris County…
September 18, 2024
Texas

Houston Public Media: Paxton threatens to sue counties that send out voter registration applications without being asked

Andrew Schneider of Houston Public Media reports on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s threat to sue counties that send out unrequested voter registration applications.
September 16, 2024
Texas

KUT: Austin officials and state lawmakers accuse Gov. Abbott of voter intimidation

Luz Moreno-Lozano of KUT reports on accusations of voter intimidation by Governor Abbott. Some state lawmakers, Austin city leaders and activists are pushing back against what they say is voter…
September 9, 2024
Texas

KHOU: Harris County leaders react to Texas AG Ken Paxton’s warning over distribution of voter registration applications

Marcelino Benito of KHOU reports on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s threat to sue Texas counties if they mail voter registration forms to county residents. Harris…
September 4, 2024
Texas

Votebeat: Abbott says a million names have been deleted from Texas voter rolls. What does that number mean?

Julian Salinas II and Natalia Contreras of Votebeat report on the removal of a million names from Texas voter rolls. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Monday that the state…
August 28, 2024
Texas

Votebeat: Harris County’s elections were flawed, but new officials made improvements, state says

Natalia Contreras of Votebeat reports on Harris County elections and the improvements officials have made. The Secretary of State’s Office will again assign state inspectors to observe the handling and…
August 26, 2024
Texas

Texas Tribune: Texas Rangers find no evidence of efforts to sway 2022 election results in Harris County

Joshua Fetcher of the Texas Tribune reports on the investigation of Harris County’s 2022 election. Investigators with the Texas Rangers and the Harris County District Attorney’s office found no evidence…
August 14, 2024
Texas

Votebeat: Harris County Order for New Election Hinged on Paperwork Errors

Natalia Contreras from Votebeat reports that the Order for new Harris County vote raises pressure on election officials to get things right: A judge’s decision to order a new election…
May 23, 2024