With some carrier envelopes for returned ballots by mail appearing to be defective, the Cameron County Elections Department has come up with a “cure process” for the defect.
Remi Garza, administrator for Cameron County’s Elections and Voter Registration Department, on Friday said newly enacted provisions to the Texas Election Code included in Senate Bill 1, allow for technical corrections to be made before the returned ballot is ultimately rejected by the Early Voting Ballot Board.
If a carrier envelope is not signed, is missing or has incorrect newly acquired identification numbers or required forms are not returned with the ballot, the voter will be notified by either the Elections Office or the Early Voting Ballot Board to fix the defect, Garza said.
Ballot by mail voters will be given the choice to either have the ballot returned to them for correction or they can go to the Elections Office to “cure the defect” in person.
“This is a new process and a chance for mail ballots that would be rejected for technical errors to be counted,” said Garza. “We are doing everything we can to reach out to the voters to let them know what they need to do to resolve the issue quickly.”
Garza said if a voter receives a returned ballot they should carefully read the enclosed instructions and correct the specific defects. Once the information is completed, they should mail the information back to the Elections Office before 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is March 1.
If they want to return it in person, they can do so only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day at the Election’s Office located at 1050 E. Madison Street in Brownsville.
If the voter is notified by phone from the Early Voting Ballot Board, the voters must complete the Corrective Action Form for defective carrier envelope and return it to the early voting clerk’s office by the sixth day after Election Day. If the carrier envelope is returned to them by mail, the voter should complete the corrective action form and return it and the original carrier envelope to the early voting clerk by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
Officials urge anyone who seek additional information to contact the Elections Office at (956) 544-0809.
