(Photo by Jackson Hannah)
By Jackson Hanna
The 2020 election has come to a close, but not without controversy as it took select states several days to count every ballot due to disputes and COVID-19.
Extra precautions had to be taken to adhere to every registered voter’s needs, and mail-in ballots were the answer.
Every state implemented different criteria for a citizen to acquire a mail-in ballot.
In order to be eligible for a mail-in ballot in the State of Texas, voters must be 65 years of age or older, cite a disability or illness, confirmed to be in jail while still being registered to vote, or confirmed to be in a different county you are not registered to vote come election day, according to the Texas Secretary of State website.
Dorothy Kennedy, election office administrator for Lubbock County, said she has received thousands of applications for mail-in ballots.
“Everybody has mixed opinions,” she said. “The signatures is [sic] how we know it’s protected so we know that it’s the same signature.”
Questions have been raised over the reliability of mail-in votes, but Kennedy is confident that the process is reliable with the signature verification.
“We’ve not had any reports of nobody having stolen ballots out of somebody else’s mailbox,” she said. “The signature verification committee that looks at the signature of the application and the signature on the back of the ballot to make sure they’re the same.”
Voters understand the precautionary measures taken to ensure everyone votes in a safe manner.
Julia Siewert, an elementary school teacher from Abilene, said she appreciates the precautions that are in place for her mother.
“Having a mother that is unable to drive; it’s extremely important to her,” Siewert said. “She really cares about the nation so, that would be her chance.”
Siewert said she is confident every absentee vote was counted legally.
Based on what she witnessed, she said there was minimal room for error.
“She filled it out, and there was like two envelopes she had to secure it in, and we put it straight in the post office box,” Siewert said.
Chas McCallister, a first-time voter from Tuscola, Texas, said he was puzzled by the amount of time it took to count all of the votes.
“I just don’t understand how it took big states like California, Florida and Texas one day to count all the votes, then Nevada took almost a week,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Following the election, criticism among voters has sprung in regard to the time it took to count every vote. Kennedy added that every state has different ways of counting the votes, but nothing is certain until weeks after the election has concluded.
“All states have different ways for the ballots to come back in six days to receive military ballots concrete in Texas until 11 days after the election,” she said.
As the election has concluded, voters still question whether or not the results will stand.
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