Name: Bexar County considers 24/7 and mega vote centers to widen voter access in Nov. 3 elections
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Bexar County considers 24/7 and mega vote centers to widen voter access in Nov. 3 elections

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The November general election is one of the most anticipated in years, with the presidency at stake and both parties in bitter battles to take back the U.S. Senate and House. Partisan sentiment is running so high that yard signs saying “I’m so gonna vote” are a common sight in San Antonio neighborhoods.But the voting will take place amid a highly contagious pandemic, and that has officials and candidates concerned that fear of the coronavirus will cause many voters to stay home.Bexar County commissioners think they can help ease those fears. Among the ideas that will be discussed at a meeting Friday:On ExpressNews.com:More for youCommissioner Justin Rodriguez is spearheading the effort to get these proposals moving. Final decisions on how elections are run are made by county Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen, with guidance from commissioners. The county pays for the voting process.The county used gloves, pencils and finger cots to facilitate noncontact voting in the July 14 runoff elections, with transparent dividers allowing election officials to scan driver’s licenses and other ID cards without touching them.But general elections in Bexar County in presidential election years have historically generated a 57 percent turnout — much higher than the 10 percent in the runoff.“We have to be, I think, a little bit aspirational here, but I think also pragmatic about the realities of this COVID environment we’re dealing with, and that means not just protecting the election workers but obviously making sure that the voters feel safe if they have to go and vote in person,” Rodriguez said in explaining why he made his suggestions.For example, he said, “if we use an AT&amp;T Center or an Alamodome or the Convention Center, you can certainly maximize space so that people are at least 6 feet apart” in a climate-controlled area.Rodriguez has support for the ideas he and his staff developed, including some backing from Republican Commissioner Kevin Wolff, although Wolff disagrees with the mail ballot drop-off locations and expanding drive-thru voting.Some drive-thru voting is allowed now; under current state law, certain voters, such as those who have a physical handicap, are allowed to vote in their vehicles with the help of election workers. Party poll watchers also are allowed to be present.Wolff said Dr. Ruth Berggren, director of the University of Texas Health Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics and the county’s lead adviser on the coronavirus, has discouraged additional drive-thru voting because of the required presence of others.“Dr. Berggren has already recommended against this so as not to endanger election officials or voters,” the commissioner said.As for the drop-off locations, Gov. Greg Abbott’s proclamation extending the early voting period also allows mail-in ballots to be hand-delivered during early voting, which is Oct. 13 to 30, or on Election Day, Nov. 3.Wolff points out, however, that a ballot can’t just be dropped off; state law requires that the voter present an ID and sign a roster when hand-delivering their ballot. Doing so, the commissioner said, helps prevent voter fraud.County Judge Nelson Wolff, on the other hand, said he supports the concept of drop-off locations but recognized that it would be against current regulations.“They’d have to change the rules for that to happen, but other states do that,” the county judge noted.On the issue of mega centers, both Judge and Commissioner Wolff see the advantages.Commissioner Wolff noted that the county already has agreements with the AT&amp;T Center for County Commissioner Precinct 4, with the Alzafar Shrine for Precinct 3 and Concepción Sports Complex for Precinct 1. One is still needed in Precinct 2, he said.Not everyone supports the mega centers, however.Madhu Sridhar, president of the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area, said voters from poor and minority neighborhoods may have a hard time getting there.“We should be having more voting centers spread out so that all voters can conveniently vote,” Sridhar said. “How about minority people who, even going to the closest voting center, they have to take two buses? How are they going to reach these convention centers? It’s not fair, it’s not convenient for all voters.”Rodriguez’s proposal to lease or purchase more voting machines and recruit and train more election judges and poll workers is necessary to expand the number of early voting and Election Day vote centers, as he suggested.With the county’s new ExpressVote system, used for the first time in a statewide constitutional amendment election last November, voters registered in Bexar County are allowed to cast a ballot at any polling site on Election Day.But the county had to reduce the number of polling sites in the July 14 runoffs after about a dozen election crews opted not to work that day, concerned about COVID-19. Abbot’s emergency order requiring face coverings when in public exempts Texans who are voting, prompting worries from election workers, many of whom are in their 70s and considered at high risk of complications if they are infected with the virus.In suggesting that applications for mail ballots be sent to all voters 65 and older, Rodriguez also requested they be sent with prepaid return postage. A cost estimate wasn’t immediately available.But it looks like the county might save that expense; the Texas Democratic Party launched an initiative Monday to mail applications to every voter 65 and older in the state’s five largest counties, and that includes Bexar.“Elections are won or lost with vote by mail,” said Manny Garcia, party executive director. “Now more than ever, to have our seniors vote safely, voting by mail is the best option for them.”The total of 1.75 million ballot applications that the party will have sent out when the initiative is completed is something of an admission by the party that its lawsuit seeking to expand vote-by-mail access to all Texans is unlikely to succeed.As of now, voters younger than 65 must have a reason for voting by mail, such as a disability or a trip out of town that prevents them from showing up at the polls in person.On ExpressNews.com:Rodriguez also is proposing at least one “24-hour site” during the early voting period that would be open at least one or two days, primarily for emergency personnel and others who work odd hours or can’t get to the polls during the day.He said he offered his suggestions in response to “severe spikes of COVID-19 positive cases.”“My guess is it’s going to be north of 60 percent this time,” Rodriguez said of the November turnout. “And so we’ve got to make sure we’re completely prepared. And that means doing things differently than we’ve done in the past.”Callanen, the elections administrator, was unavailable for comment. Judge Wolff said he’s in favor of Rodriguez’s proposals.“I think all of his ideas are good,” Wolff said.Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Scott, . | Twitter:

The November general election is one of the most anticipated in years, with the presidency at stake and both parties in bitter battles to take back the U.S. Senate and House. Partisan sentiment is running so high that yard signs saying “I’m so gonna vote” are a common sight in San Antonio neighborhoods.But the voting will take place amid a highly contagious pandemic, and that has officials and candidates concerned that fear of the coronavirus will cause many voters to stay home.Bexar County commissioners think they can help ease those fears. Among the ideas that will be discussed at a...

Bexar County considers 24/7 and mega vote centers to widen voter access in Nov. 3 elections

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