Uvalde County votes to apply for state 'vote centers' program after mixed public comment

At a special Monday meeting, the Uvalde County Commissioners Court voted to apply to Texas's countywide polling-place, or "vote centers," program, a step Elections Administrator Melissa Jones said would let any registered voter cast a ballot at any polling place in Uvalde County on election day.

Melissa Jones, Uvalde County elections administrator, told the court the program requires a ballot-on-demand or ballot-marking system and a computerized voter-registration database linked by a virtual private network so check-ins sync across sites. "This would allow voters to vote anywhere inside this county of Uvalde on election day," Jones said, adding that the county already has the ballot-on-demand equipment and would not need to buy new machines to apply.

Supporters at the meeting said the program could reduce voters being turned away for being at the wrong precinct and could boost turnout. Anwar Goodge, a resident who addressed the court, said the program "will greatly increase voter participation" and noted that more than 96 Texas counties have adopted similar systems. "This program gives the local voters an opportunity to cast a vote at any designated voting place," Goodge said.

Opponents expressed concerns about election integrity, electronic-system errors and costs for additional poll workers and training. Jay Anson Bills, a member of the public, urged commissioners to address "a lot of problems with election integrity in this county" before moving forward. Robert Rodriguez, chair of Precinct 6, warned that electronic systems can be hacked or produce errors and called the pilot program "an experiment." "Our vote is pretty sacred," Rodriguez said.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about whether applying would bind the county to make permanent changes. Jones said applying does not obligate the county to participate if selected and that the county could preserve all 14 existing precincts. She also emphasized that early voting and mail ballots would remain unchanged and that provisional ballots would be available for voters not found in the system.

Commissioner Bates moved to apply for the program and Commissioner Garza seconded the motion. After public comment and brief discussion, the chair called for the ayes and stated, "Motion carries." The transcript does not include a roll-call tally or the number of votes.

Next steps: the court approved submitting the application to the state for consideration as a pilot site. The application could lead to the county being selected for a pilot but, according to Jones, the court may still choose not to implement countywide voting if it later decides against it.

Authorities and legal context cited at the meeting included the state legislature's recent action authorizing countywide vote centers and a 2023 state law discussed by Jones requiring that voting systems be paper-backed by 2026; commissioners also heard public references to prior requests for attorney general rulings and recount issues in other counties.

The court adjourned after the vote.