U.S. Justice Department will again have election monitors in Texas
Federal monitors will be on the ground in Harris, Dallas and Waller counties on Election Day as part of the department’s regular deployment for major elections.
Super Tuesday voting at the Metropolitan Multi Service Center near downtown Houston on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Credit:
Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune
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The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday it will send election monitors to three Texas counties — Harris, Dallas and Waller — to keep an eye on local compliance with federal voting rights laws on Election Day.
Monitors from the Justice Department are regularly deployed across the country for major elections, with Texas counties making the list for at least the past decade under both Democratic and Republican administrations. The three Texas counties are among 64 jurisdictions in 24 states that will have a federal presence Tuesday.
The announcement of the monitors comes ahead of an Election Day shrouded by increasing concerns over voter intimidation, though there have been few, if any, reports of major concern so far in Texas where nearly 5.5 million voters have already cast their ballots.
Voting FAQ: 2024 Elections
What other elections should I know about?
Texas voters may be able to participate in the following elections:
- May 4 elections for many local elected offices and bond propositions that are not part of county government. The voter registration deadline is April 4.
- May 28 primary runoffs for elected offices in which no candidate won more than half of the votes during the March Republican and Democratic primaries. The voter registration deadline is April 29.
- Nov. 5 general elections for many state, federal and county offices. The voter registration deadline is Oct. 7.
Are there rules at the polls?
Cellphones, cameras, computers and other devices that can record sound or images cannot be used within 100 feet of voting stations (where ballots are marked). There are usually traffic cones or signs indicating this. Campaigning, including wearing clothing or other items that publicize candidates, political parties or measures on the ballot, is also banned beyond this point. Voters are allowed to use written notes to cast their ballot at the discretion of election officers, who may determine if the material counts as campaigning. Firearms, including handguns, are also prohibited at polling places, according to Texas law.
What are my rights as a voter?
Voters have the right to:
- cast a provisional ballot if they are registered but their name does not appear on the list of registered voters because of an administrative issue
- get written instructions about how to cast a ballot or to ask a polling place officer or worker (but not about who or what to vote for)
- use up to two additional ballots to make corrections if a voter makes a mistake while marking their ballot
- generally cast their ballots in secret and should not be subject to intimidation
- get interpretation, assistance or accommodations to vote if they have a disability or limited English proficiency
- vote during work hours without being penalized or losing pay (this may not apply if a worker has two hours before or after work to go vote)
- cast their ballot as long as they’re in line by 7 p.m. on Election Day
A state law passed in 2023 also allows voters with disabilities or mobility problems to skip the line at their polling location and requires each polling location to have a designated parking spot for curbside voting.
What if I was planning to vote in person, but I have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or get sick?
If you have contracted COVID-19 or are exhibiting symptoms, consider requesting an emergency early voting ballot or using curbside voting.
Emergency ballot: These ballots can be requested if you become sick or disabled close to an election and are unable to go to a polling place on Election Day. To qualify, you must designate a representative to submit an application in person on your behalf and have a certified doctor’s note. The application must be received by your county’s early voting clerk before 5 p.m. on Election Day.
Your ballot must be returned by the same designated representative before 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. Contact your county elections office for more details about an emergency early-voting ballot due to sickness or disability.
Curbside voting: You can also contact your county elections office to determine if you’re eligible for curbside voting, which must be made available at every polling place for voters with disabilities unable to enter a polling location.
What can I do if I have trouble voting?
At the polls, voters can talk to election officers or poll workers if they run into issues. The secretary of state’s office has a helpline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683) to reach state attorneys available to assist voters and election officials with questions. A coalition of voting rights groups runs voter protection hotlines in several languages. Disability Rights Texas also offers a helpline for people with disabilities.
The department did not specify how it made its selections for monitoring, though Harris and Waller counties have made the list in the last four presidential and midterm elections. Harris County has recently been the site of electoral catastrophes such as the 2020 presidential primary when voters at a polling place on the Texas Southern University campus — one of the nation’s largest historically Black colleges — were left waiting six hours to cast their ballots.
Rural Waller County is home to Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black campus, where generations of students have been caught up in the long struggle for voting rights. The latest chapter of that struggle began in 2018 when a group of students sued the county over a lopsided early voting schedule that offered students — most of them Black — fewer opportunities to vote early than the county’s white residents. Following the suit, the county’s commissioner court extended hours at an on-campus polling place, though a federal judge ruled years later that the county had not discriminated against the students.
What you can expect from our elections coverage
How we explain voting
We explain the voting process with election-specific voter guides to help Texans learn what is on the ballot and how to vote. We interview voters, election administrators and election law experts so that we can explain the process, barriers to participation and what happens after the vote is over and the counting begins. Read more here.
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Harris and Dallas are also the state’s largest and second-largest counties and home to large populations of Black and Latino voters.
The department has routinely dispatched monitors into the field since the passage of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was meant to equalize access to voting and outlaw discriminatory voting practices. Texas history is pockmarked by efforts to disenfranchise people of color, from the time of “white primaries” and poll taxes to more contemporary examples like the state’s original strict photo ID law, which lawmakers were forced to revise after a federal judge found it intentionally discriminated against Latino and Black voters who were less likely to have one of the seven forms of ID needed to vote.
The fleet of monitors generally includes lawyers from the department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices as well as employees from the Office of Personnel Management, who are authorized to serve as monitors by federal court order. Voters can send complaints on possible violations of federal law to the DOJ through its website or by calling 800-253-3931. Polls open at 7 a.m. on Election Day.
Disclosure: Prairie View A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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