Did you know that after every election in Texas all counties conduct a Partial Manual Count to spot-check the voting machines? Election offices across the state have completed or are in the process of hand-counting ballots as an audit on the machines. In a statement provided by her office, Secretary of State Jane Nelson said, “This year’s audit will be the largest conducted in the state and underscore Texas’ commitment to transparency.”
Normally, counties are required to hand-count either 1% of the election precincts or three precincts, whichever is greater. Those precincts are randomly selected by the Secretary of State’s Office. This time, counties must also include an additional three precincts or polling places randomly selected by the county. The larger sample size for this audit of the voting machines should increase voter confidence in the outcome of the election.
The races chosen by the Secretary of State for the count are the state-wide presidential and U.S. Senate races. Counties were instructed to choose an additional county-level race at random. The count is considered an audit, not a recount, so its results will not change the outcome of any of the races. With its broad scope it can, however, alert candidates all the way down the ballot of any tabulation, printing, or other machine errors.
The counties must begin the counting process within 72 hours of the polls closing by submitting their randomly chosen precincts and races to the Secretary of State. They must then begin the process of sorting the ballots. This can be a long and arduous process for larger counties since ballots for the chosen precincts can be mixed into any of the boxes from Early Voting locations across the county. This is yet another part of the election process that could be improved by precinct-based voting.
Mail-in ballots are included in the partial manual count. If timed well, counties can count the last remaining overseas ballots and provisional ballots by machine and then add them directly into the manual count. The partial manual count must be completed by the 21st day after Election Day.
If chain of custody is protected, stopping the chance for ballot tampering, these partial manual counts that take place after every election should give voters confidence that the machines are not being manipulated to change the outcome.