Secretary of State says local officials must delay May 2 elections for voters’ health
The Texas Secretary of State’s Office instructed local officials Thursday to immediately push back their May 2 elections if they had not already done so to prevent risking the health and safety of voters due to the novel coronavirus’ spread.
“If you don’t move your May 2nd election, you are subjecting voters to health risks and potential criminal violations,” Keith Ingram the director of the office’s Elections Division wrote in an email Thursday to local election officials. “Failure to postpone your election will put your election at severe risk for an election contest.”
Following concerns with Texans flocking to the polls amid the coronavirus’ spread, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation last month allowing local officials to postpone their May 2 elections to Nov. 3. However, the decision was ultimately up to local officials and at the time Abbott urged them to do so.
On Tuesday, Abbott issued an executive order that extended school closures until May 4 and requires Texans to stay home through April unless participating in activities or services deemed essential by the state.
In Ingram’s email to local officials Thursday, he noted that Abbott’s most recent executive order makes clear that officials must take action to move their elections, even if to fill a vacancy.
And while election workers have been included in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidance on critical infrastructure workers, the email notes “this does not include voters.”
The email also addressed avenues for officials concerned about a constitutional requirement to fill vacancies within 120 days, and the continuation of a sales tax that would expire before November. If Nov. 3 is not a feasible date, local jurisdictions may seek a court order or request permission from the governor to adjust a special election date.
In an email Thursday night, Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia said the decision to postpone municipal elections would be under the authority of each local jurisdiction. In Tarrant County, only Fort Worth and Westworth Village had yet to postpone its previously scheduled May 2 elections, while other cities like Arlington had already voted to push their elections back to Nov. 3.
Fort Worth had sought approval to postpone its Crime Control and Prevention District sales tax election to the summer, because it would expire before November. And on Thursday, Abbott’s office issued a proclamation granting the city’s request.
The governor’s proclamation notes the city’s Crime Control and Prevention District sales tax election will be postponed to July 14 — the same date that Abbott had previously postponed the May 26 primary runoff elections and a special election to fill outgoing Sen. Kirk Watson’s District 14 seat to.
Early voting will begin July 6, in conjunction with the primary runoff election’s early voting period.
Westworth Village Mayor Kelly Jones wrote in an email Thursday night that the city is reviewing the Secretary of State’s guidance with its counsel. On the May ballot were four city council seats.
In an additional advisory sent Thursday to local officials, the Secretary of State’s Office had expanded upon options officials may seek in an effort to facilitate elections amid a growing pandemic and stay-at-home orders.
In order to qualify to vote by mail, Texans must submit an application and be either 65 years or older, disabled, out of the county on election day and during in-person early voting or be eligible to vote but confined in jail.
However, the advisory noted Texas Elections Code also defines disability as “a sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the polling place on election day without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring the voter’s health.”
It was the same provision that the Texas Democratic Party had pointed to in its lawsuit seeking to allow Texans to cast their ballots by mail in the upcoming elections to prevent the coronavirus’ spread.
Due to an anticipated increase in vote-by-mail requests, the Secretary of State’s Office strongly recommended local officials stock up on the necessary materials to meet demand.
The advisory also noted that counties could obtain court orders that would allow for a temporary expansion of late voting to allow quarantined voters to cast their ballot or modify voting procedures.
In an effort to limit the virus’ spread, the advisory also provided recommendations on how to clean voting equipment and suggested adjusting polling locations to not include assisted living or residential care facilities that may have residents who are at higher-risk of developing complications.
Jones said Thursday that Westworth Village had already made preliminary plans for polling places to be “completely ‘socially distant’ compliant,” including the possibility of marked areas for voters to stand and wait, a place to discard of provided gloves and the constant sterilization of voting equipment.
“Additionally, we have a somewhat elderly citizenry, and I had already sent out voting by mail instructions for our residents,” Jones wrote.
