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Jefferson County elections manager explains why thousands of mail-in ballot requests are being rejected in Texas

The Jefferson County Elections Office has rejected about 10 percent of mail-in ballot applications.

BEAUMONT, Texas — There is one month left until the March primaries and thousands of mail-in ballots are being rejected in Texas.

Texas election offices have been rejecting more applications than normal. However, an area elections manager said that most Jefferson County voters are not facing this same issue.

“Most are filling out applications correctly,” Aaron Kelly, Jefferson County elections manager, said.

The Jefferson County Elections Office has rejected about 10 percent of mail-in ballot applications. Kelly listed what common mistakes voters are making when requesting the ballots.

One mistake being made deals with a new requirement from Senate Bill 1.

“One, there's a new requirement from the state for a driver's license or the last four of the social security. It has to match the state database,” Kelly said.

Some voters are simply not marking specific areas of the application.

“Number two on the list is people desiring an annual application, which means that they get ballots for the entire year. They need to mark that,” Kelly said

Another common mistake that voters are making is not declaring a party in their mail-in ballot application.

“So, make sure they mark Democrat or Republican, and then there's a little box to the side, and don't forget that, also include any party runoff, any primary runoff," Kelly said "That needs to be included to, or that would eliminate them from having a ballot.” 

If a voters initial application gets denied, they can always resubmit.

“Certainly there's now a way if the voter includes their cell phone number or their email on the application, we're able to get back in touch with that voter to make sure what their intent was, or you know,” Kelly said.

Voters have until Feb. 18 to fill out and submit a mail-in ballot application. Southeast Texans can either call the Jefferson County Elections Office at 409-835-8760 or visit their website.

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