Brazos County voters won’t see changes in voting until next year
The Brazos County Elections Office says November elections will be the same, but to expect changes in early 2022.
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - The final version of the hard-fought Texas voting bill, Senate Bill 1, has been sent to the desk of Governor Greg Abbott for his signature.
When this bill becomes a law, it will set new rules for the voting process.
Some changes to the Texas election process in SB 1 include:
- A ban on drive- thru voting
- New regulations for early voting hours, including a ban on 24-hour voting
- A ban on the distribution of mail-in ballot applications
- New ID requirements for voting by mail
- A correction process for mail-in voting
- Enhancing poll watcher protections
- Establishing monthly citizen checks
- Creating new rules for voter assistance
Brazos County Elections Administrator Trudy Hancock says Brazos County voters can expect to see these changes, but not until after the November elections.
“None of these changes go into effect in November,” Hancock said. “So for those that have already applied for ballot-by-mail, just know that we have already started processing those, and once the ballots get finalized, we’ll be sending those out. Nothing is changing for November. Everything is changing for the primary and going forward.”
Hancock and her staff spent the day training on how to use their new election equipment. She said voters can expect to see a paper-based system for the November elections.
“You’ll be handed a piece of paper with your access code, and you’ll put that paper into a machine, which will print out the things you voted for, and you’ll have to put that in the ballot box,” she said.
For more information, tune into News 3 Now for the full interview with Trudy Hancock:
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