The elections division of the Texas Secretary of State's office says requests for mail-in ballot applications have increased 559% from 2016. Four years ago, the office received 71,322 requests for mail-in ballot applications; this year, the elections division has received 470,288 requests.
That increase in requests has led to delays getting applications to voters.
Janet Lee, who lives in Dallas, says she requested a mail-in ballot application September 29 but only received it this week. She must get the application to Dallas County Elections by Friday.
"I'm a little frustrated up to the point of today, having to still go out myself and try to be proactive and, hopefully, making sure they receive it," she says.
Applications for mail-in ballots must be received by county elections departments Friday; they cannot just be postmarked Friday. Lee says called Dallas County Elections to check on when she might receive her application; she says the department could not answer all her questions.
"We've worked to bring more temporary operators and workers on to answer questions," says Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. "I'm sorry she had trouble getting through."
Once applications are received by the counties, the counties are responsible for getting ballots to voters.
The Texas Secretary of State's office says workers from other departments have moved into the elections division, and employees are being offered overtime to handle the increase in requests for applications. Applications for mail-in ballots can also be downloaded and printed from https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/voter/reqabbm.shtml .
Voters no longer have time to mail applications for mail-in ballots. They can also print an application from the website, sign it, scan it and email or fax the application to their county elections office. But a hard copy must still be mailed and arrive within four days of the application sent electronically.