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County residents press for election transparency, urge return to hand-marked ballots
Summary
Multiple speakers at the Aug. 5 Brazos County Commissioner's Court urged the court to put the County Clerk in charge of elections, called for more public access to appraisal and sales data on the CAD site, and demanded changes to electronic voting procedures including hand-marked ballots and public audits.
BRYAN, Texas — During the public comment period of the Brazos County Commissioner's Court on Aug. 5, several residents urged the court to change how local elections are administered and asked for greater access to appraisal and sales data used in tax protests.
Precinct 1 resident Cindy Wiley raised concerns about a contested congressional race in Webb County and said recounts and forensic reviews of ballots had been interrupted. Wiley said the “county Commissioner's Court, at any time, can choose the process of how their county will conduct elections” and recommended eliminating countywide polling programs that rely on electronic voting machines in favor of hand-marked ballots verified with tabulators and by hand counts.
Marie Wood, who identified herself as a Precinct 1 resident, told the court she wants “a status update on [County Judge Peters'] health and his political status” and separately said she believes voting machines are not producing fair elections, urging the court to “go back to hand counting our ballots.”
Another commenter (name not specified in the record) urged the court to make appraisal sales data available to the public on the county appraisal district (CAD) website and to add an easier “Who represents me” precinct lookup so residents can find their commissioner without reading a map.
Why it matters: Speakers linked election administration and data access to public trust in both electoral results and property appraisal appeals. Calls to change election administration would require the Commissioner's Court to act and coordination with county elections officials and the Texas Secretary of State.
No formal action was taken at the Aug. 5 meeting on election administration. Residents asked the court to consider policy changes — including switching responsibility to the County Clerk, improving public access to CAD sales data used in appraisals, adding an easy precinct-lookup feature to the county website, and replacing some electronic systems with hand-marked-ballot systems reviewed by hand counts.
Ending: The court did not take votes on election administration or CAD website changes at the Aug. 5 meeting. Speakers provided written testimony and asked commissioners to consider the suggested changes moving forward.
