Harris County Clerk Says So Far, Election Day Is Running Smoothly

Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said Election Day operations were running smoothly, with more than 26,000 Harris County voters going to the polls to cast their votes earlier this morning.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Hudspeth said that one of the major challenges that the election officials face on Election Day is ensuring that all polls were open by 7 a.m.

She added that 98 percent of the 545 vote centers opened on time, with 2 percent running behind schedule due to power issues, election judges being unable to get into the facility on time and newer election judges having challenges setting up the equipment.

“There are no flawless elections. But there are smooth elections. And we normally mitigate all of that in a very timely manner in the morning, so that’s what that 2 percent reflects,” Hudspeth said. “All voters have been voting at every single last vote center that has had voters today, and we are moving along in the process accordingly.”

Hudspeth confirmed that all vote centers were open and the power issues had been addressed.

She touched on concerns regarding District Attorney Kim Ogg’s ability to vote after Ogg reported having issues casting her ballot at Love Park Community Center. Hudspeth said that Ogg’s partner is registered to vote at the same address as the district attorney and voted in the March 5 Primary under Ogg’s name.

Hudspeth added that each voter is asked to review and confirm the information on the iPad screen when voting and that Ogg’s partner must not have noticed that the information did not match hers because she signed her name as confirmation.

She noted this could be a common occurrence, especially with a spouse, partner, or family member who lives at the same address. When asked whether it was an issue made by the voter or the election worker, Hudspeth said it could have been either.

Hudspeth also spoke on an issue encountered by state representative Jarvis Johnson (D-Houston), a candidate for Senate District 15, who arrived at Booker T. Washington High School to vote with his daughter, son and a campaign member. Johnson and his supporters said they could not find his race on the ballot.

The county clerk said that she had discussed the incident with Johnson regarding the issue and that it had been an election judge error in which those trying to vote received the wrong precinct code — the wrong ballot code.

Hudspeth added that the issue was isolated and that the department sent out trainers and individuals who will be at that voting center to ensure that the process has been corrected and does not come up again throughout the day.

She said preparations to target any problems that arise on Election Day are in place, such as assigning election technicians to each polling location, keeping additional staff and equipment on standby and using technologies like ServiceNow — a platform that helps organize data and systems — to address any issues that arise and direct the appropriate teams to respond in real-time.

As of 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Harris County Clerk’s Office Elections Department help desk received 480 calls, 59 percent of which were regarding equipment, 24 percent were about operations and the remainder were questions from the public, such as where to vote.

Hudspeth reminded voters that they could go to harrisvotes.com to find the closest vote center or one with the lowest wait time nearest them. She added that residents could also call their election hotline with any questions at 713-755-6965.