Williamson County talks future voting sites due to long wait times

Wilco commissioners discussed the future of polling locations in the county during a November 22 session. Following the recent election, concerns about wait times and availability of polling locations were at the front of the commissioner’s minds.

Chris Davis, Williamson County elections administrator, answered questions about this fall’s election, specifically regarding late reporting of election results and long lines.

Late result reporting

Questions were asked about two polling boxes out of 65 county locations that had results come in after midnight.

“The specific question I have is … what was the reason those were left out late?” County Judge Bill Gravell said.

Mr. Davis explained one site had lost count of their ballots at the polling location. When that number hits a certain amount by law, they are required to rescan the ballots. The sites check the number of voters checked in against the number of votes cast and are looking for the numbers to match. Discrepancies can arise for reasons such as voter negligence.

“We still have voters that think this ballot paper of theirs is a receipt they can take home,” Mr. Davis said.

He said if a discrepancy of four or more are detected, they pause to rescan the ballots. Going forward, Mr. Davis said more training is going to be a focal point in preventing further problems.

“We had some new judges this time around that we will focus on training in the areas where they weren’t particularly strong when it comes to reconciliation, tracking the number of blank ballots they have left. Every kind of piece of accountability,” he said.

He said he intends to put the result tapes online for public access in the future.

The other late location, Brushy Creek, had simply taken extra time to count due to the late voter turnout, Mr. Davis said.

Long lines contributed to wait times, and if a voter is in line by the 7 p.m. mark they are allowed by law to vote. At the Brushy Creek location in particular, Mr. Davis said there were over a thousand people in line at 7 p.m.

“We tell them to take their time getting the voters processed, getting the materials they need and getting them back,” he said.

The county judge asked if any affidavit had been submitted within Williamson County for the 2022 election that would reflect voter fraud.

“None. Zero,” Mr. Davis replied. The City of Austin runoff election is set for December 13 in tandem with Travis County. In preparation for this, Mr. Gravell asked Mr. Davis what might be needed to streamline the voting process in the future.

“Clearly our future in Williamson County is we’ve got to add additional voter locations,” Mr. Gravell said.

“Or more machines to the locations, or larger locations, or all the above,” Mr. Davis agreed.

Expanding future availability

Polling locations will be an ongoing topic for the county.

Mr. Gravell said the locations the county currently uses have their own set of problems.

The Randalls in Round Rock, for example, has been an issue because of its small size. Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles compared the five voting machines at Randalls to the Jester Center, which can hold 20 machines. The Randalls is a large draw because of location, but the limited size and machines contributed to long lines and wait times this year.

He asked which locations, especially in places such as Hutto, could house a large amount of machines to expand availability.

“There’s not that many buildings that we can use for a secure two-week period that allow for 20 machines,” he said.

Mr. Davis brought up current pre-filed legislation being discussed that would remove public schools as a voting location in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.

“That is a big concern for us,” he said. “Fifteen to 20 percent of our sites are public schools for election day. If those go away overnight, I’m really going to need help finding sites for polling places.”

Commissioners will examine potential polling sites in the future, as well as software that shows current wait times.

“I invite your, and the commission’s and the public’s input into finding us places that work,” Mr. Davis said.