Registered voters over the age of 65 are receiving mailings that allow the voter to request a ballot by mail as the March Primary election season begins. However, County Clerk Debbie Shirley has a warning for those who respond requesting ballots. She asks those requesting ballot by mail to request only the ballot specific to the party primary in which the voter wishes to cast the ballot. Some voters are returning both party mailings and therein lays the problem.
According to Shirley, both the Republican and Democrat parties are automatically sending out the mailings to all voters. The voter may return one request for the party primary in which they wish to vote. Either Democrat or Republican may be chosen. If one requests both ballots, that creates a problem for the voter as well as the County Clerk’s office.
The last request received from a voter is the ballot they will receive, according to Shirley. If the voter mails in both requests, by law the second request made will invalidate the first request. By law, a voter may cast a ballot in only one primary.
For those voters who protest the ballot received, the County Clerk’s office faces additional work. The County Clerk’s office follows the Texas Secretary of State directives in assigning ballot by mail to the voter’s request. When a voter appears at the County Clerk’s office counter to change the ballot, that change initiates additional work for her office personnel.
