Central Texas voters turned out for early voting at a rate just shy of the turnout seen in the 2020 election – the last time a presidential race was on the ballot. That is a little skewed since the early voting period in 2020 was extended beyond the normal two-week period because of the Covid-19 pandemic. […]
Travis County Clerk
Dana DeBeauvoir.
Posted inAustin
To celebrate marriage equality, Travis County offers free marriage ceremonies June 26
To celebrate the eight-year anniversary of becoming the first Texas county to issue a same-sex marriage license, Travis County is offering free wedding ceremonies all day Monday, June 26. Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon-Mercado said she thinks it’s particularly important for the county to show solidarity with the LGBTQ community this year. “Especially as the LGBTQ […]
Posted inElections
Travis County Judge speaks out against Texas voting law
Last Thursday, Travis County Judge Andy Brown joined a U.S. House subcommittee, Committee on House Administration, to speak against Senate Bill 1, the new Republican voting legislation aimed at limiting the effectiveness of alternative voting methods like voting by mail. The hearing, called Voting in America: Ensuring Free and Fair Access to the Ballot, offered […]
Posted inElections
It’s official: Texas’ new voting law led to higher rejection rates for mail-in ballots in Central Texas
County election officials in the Austin area are reporting a higher than usual rejection rate for mail-in ballots during the March 1 primary election. This was the first election since Texas’ new voting law went into effect. The law, known as Senate Bill 1, created new ID rules for ballots by mail. Advocates and county election […]
Posted inElections
Election officials say Texas’ new ID rules for voting by mail could cause more ballots to get rejected
Lee esta historia en español. More people’s mail-in ballots could be rejected in the March primary because of Texas’ new ID matching requirement, local election officials say. The requirement is part of Texas’ new voting law, Senate Bill 1. A provision of the law requires that the ID number on the application for a vote-by-mail ballot, […]
Posted inElections
County puts millions toward increasing wages for election workers
The Travis County Commissioners Court is investing big in election infrastructure, putting $1.3 million toward a voting system upgrade, including $700,000 to raise wages for all election workers in the county. “The agenda includes significant investments in our electoral system that are going to continue to make Travis County’s one of the safest, most fair […]
Posted inElections
Clerk calls out voter suppression under new law
While the authors of Texas Senate Bill 1 call it “an act relating to election integrity and security, including by preventing fraud in the conduct of elections in this state,” Texas Democrats call it voter suppression. At a press conference Tuesday, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir described the difficulty voters are having requesting vote-by-mail ballots, […]
Posted inTravis County
End of an era: DeBeauvoir ready for new challenges
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, who has served as the county’s chief elections officer as well as the overseer of numerous county records, including deeds and marriage licenses, announced in November that she would not seek reelection. After nearly 36 years in the post, DeBeauvoir said it’s time to do something else. The Austin Monitor […]
Posted inElections
Travis County sees heavy turnout on early voting
Travis County voters have set an early voting record. County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir released figures late Tuesday showing that 35,873 voters cast ballots in person on Tuesday. In addition, the county received 22,577 mail ballots and 17 limited ballots. That’s a little less than 7 percent of the county’s total registered voters. That record follows […]
Posted inElections
Travis County anticipates spending additional $3M for November elections
From social distancing restrictions to post office controversy, this year’s presidential election is facing unprecedented challenges. Despite the hurdles, Travis County has worked out a plan to ensure that the county’s 833,000 registered voters have access to safe and smoothly functioning voting options, both in person and through the mail. According to budget figures from […]
Posted inElections
Travis County plans for drive-thru voting drop-off for mail-in ballots
November’s presidential election is fast approaching and the Travis County Clerk’s Office is working diligently to ensure county residents have safe and well-functioning access to voting, both in-person and by mail-in ballot. To provide the required safety measures and necessary infrastructure to capture all the votes cast in Travis County, County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir told […]
Posted inElections
Misunderstanding may lower vote-by-mail numbers
As if worries about the coronavirus were not enough, some Travis County voters inadvertently failed to ask for the correct ballot when applying to vote by mail. As a result, some voters will get a ballot only for the Texas Senate District 14 race, but not for the various runoffs, mostly in the Democratic primary. […]