Bexar County will hold back early vote results until lines clear

Bexar County will not release the results of early voting or mail-in ballots until every person in line at polling places has cast a vote on Election Day. This decision by Elections Administrator Michele Carew could delay the release of data from one of Texas' largest jurisdictions. The county is home to approximately 1.3 million registered voters, which is the fourth highest number in the state. Texas has about 19 million registered voters for the November 3 election.

Carew explained her reasoning during an interview with TPR's The Source on Wednesday. She stated that her primary goal is to ensure voters in line feel confident that their ballots will be counted. She expressed concern that releasing numbers too early might cause voters to leave the line if they see results shifting without their participation. Carew said, "My fear is, if I get the numbers out too early .. voters may leave the line and decide that it doesn't matter."

Most counties in Texas release early and mail-in vote results immediately after polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots cast on Election Day are then added to the total as they are counted throughout the night. Bexar County is breaking from this common practice. Carew noted that the state election code allows her to make this judgment call based on the number of voters in line at closing time. She said she could release results closer to 7 p.m. if only a few voters remain in line.

Turnout in Bexar County has been high so far. Long lines caused one polling location to stay open until 9 p.m. on the first day of early voting. Carew said that in previous elections, voters have been in line until 10 p.m. before they were able to cast a ballot. She said, "I don't ever want it to get past 10 o'clock."

In the March primary, roughly 5,000 people were still in line at 7 p.m. on the last day of voting. Carew said that if several thousand voters are in line on Election Day, it will probably take at least an hour to release the early results. If only a couple hundred voters are in line, the numbers will likely be out on time. The county communicates with polling locations to determine the final decision.

This year's ballot includes a U.S. Senate contest between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico. There is also a race for Texas governor, along with top congressional contests and local county races. The high stakes may contribute to the long lines Carew is monitoring.

Bexar County invested in new election technology this year but still struggled to move voters quickly through lines in the early days of voting. School districts initially reported the wrong measures on local ballots on the first day of voting. The issue has since been resolved. Carew said the county added 40 new pieces of voting equipment and check-in stations to speed up the process.

Voters can use a new election wait times website to find the shortest lines. Bexar County voters can cast their ballot at any of more than 50 early voting locations. On Election Day, there will be more than 300 voting locations available throughout the county. The website allows users to sort locations by how busy they are.