Harris County reveals mail-in ballot tracking system for 2020 election
HOUSTON - For the first time, a tracking system is available for all Harris County voters to make sure all mail-in ballots are accounted for the 2020 election.
“We have actually caught a couple of kinks of envelopes stuck together that came through the mail. I know things like that, it has been helpful when people are calling in and letting us know if they have gotten their stuff yet or not,” said Isabel Longoria with the Harris County Clerk’s Office.
The mail-in ballot activity tracker is found on the Harris County Clerk’s website. Voters type their name, birthday, and last four digits of their social security number or Texas ID.
You’ll receive a notice for when the application is accepted, when the ballot is sent to the voter, when it’s received back at the office, and when it is approved.
Approval means you are good to go.
A pending status means your ballot is in line still for the independent review board, which looks at every ballot to see if it is actually from the voter who signed it.
If you are rejected, you can give the office a call to contest at 713-755-6965.
“Of the 150,000 ballots that we have already approved, there have only been 5 rejections and those have been for really extreme cases where people has their registration lapsing between when they applied to vote and when they actually returned their mail ballots. So 5 out of 150,000 is not something to be concerned about,” said Longoria.
Featured
Texas counties will be allowed only one drop-off location for mail-in ballots, state Supreme Court rules
The court upheld Gov. Greg Abbott's authority under state law to limit ballot drop-off locations, issuing what is expected to be the final ruling in numerous lawsuits that challenged his order.
On Election Day, if your status is pending, you are advised to wait a couple of days before contacting the county clerk’s office.
“Nothing can legally be counted until election day. Once you have been approved, your ballot has been approved, it is just a matter of Election Day to put that in the machine. Once we put you on that hard drive, you are basically counted,” said Longoria. “Get it in, get it in. We only have a couple more days for you to return your mail ballot and honestly, we would love to see you here at NRG. Come drop it off in person, bring your ID and make sure that you yourself are returning your mail ballot because you can’t turn in mail ballots for others. It is the best and fastest way to get that ballot into us.”
Featured
Harris County extends hours for last days of early voting
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.