Registered voters in Cameron County who requested mail-in ballots for the March 1 primary election should keep a lookout for them as the county’s elections department has mailed out 1,321 ballots.
The ballots — 1,271 Democratic and 50 Republicans — were delivered to the U.S. Post office on Tuesday for distribution and voters who requested them should expect to receive them this week. Some have already been received.
Additional ballots will be mailed out as the office anticipates more requests for mail-in ballots, said Remi Garza, administrator for the county’s Elections and Voter Registration Department.
(Read: Mail-in ballots botched in Willacy County)
Garza said voters are encouraged to read and follow the instructions that are included in the mail-in ballot packet in order to return them properly.
Voters should pay extra attention to the return envelopes they will use to send their ballots back in, Garza said.
“ It is now completely white and has a giant purple stripe on the side of it. The information that is required with respect to their ID’s is perhaps the single most important aspect next to their signature when they return it.”
This year’s envelope is different from those that have been used in past years, Garza said.
“ The envelope is designed in a way where the over flap is a lot larger because it has a tear out portion that we can use once we receive it to see to see the information that is directly behind it so that it is not exposed when it is actually in the mailing,” Garza said.
Garza stressed that it’s important that voters not tear off that portion and that when they sign their ballot their signature overlaps the seal, so election workers can make sure it has not been tampered with when it is returned to the office.
“ If they do tear off that portion but they are able to keep their signature box intact that information will just be exposed during the mailing process,” Garza said. “If it’s missing it is not going to invalidate the submission it is just that that information is going to be subject to the public seeing it as it goes through the mail process,” Garza said.
The Texas legislature in passing Senate Bill 1 which took effect Dec. 2, 2021, said it was necessary to protect the voting process.
Although voters can still request a mail-in ballot, it must be returned to the elections department by 5 p.m. on Feb. 18, Garza said.
Voters who fail to turn in their mail-in ballot by March 1 can still vote in person but they will have to surrender the mail-in ballot and cancel it at their polling site either during early voting or March 1, which is the primary election day.
“They have to surrender the ballot or they will be voting by a provisional ballot,” Garza said.
Returned mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or before March.1 and received by 5 p.m. on March 2. The ballots will be reviewed by the Early Voting Ballot Board before they are accepted and counted.
Garza said anyone seeking additional information can contact the elections department at (956) 544-0809.
