Texas House lawmakers met Tuesday to hear public testimony on how to implement a sweeping change to Texas’ early voting laws.
Senate Bill 2753, which will take effect after the secretary of state’s office publishes a report and prescribes new procedures, eliminates the current four-day gap between early voting and Election Day and requires 12 consecutive days of voting leading up to election day, including weekends and holidays.
Under the new law, counties would also be allowed to use the same voting equipment for both early voting and Election Day, replacing current law, which requires switching out machines between the two periods.
Election officials from large urban counties and small rural counties told lawmakers that, while the bill may simplify some procedures, it also threatens to drive up costs and workloads in ways that will be difficult to manage without additional funding or flexibility.
Christina Adkins, the state’s director of elections, stressed the importance of county-level feedback regarding the new law.
Adkins said, “There are some very strict hour requirements, requiring in some cases, 12-hour days [in] those last few days of the early voting process leading up to Election Day. For some of our smaller and mid-sized counties, that’s going to be very challenging. Those are days where some of them [have] extremely low turnout and they don’t necessarily have the locations that’ll give them the ability to be open.”
Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said SB 2753 will dramatically increase election costs.
“Using data from previous elections, Harris County estimates that SB 2753 could increase the cost of administering a large countywide election, such as a presidential election, by nearly 30 percent, while smaller elections could increase by approximately 9 percent,” she said, highlighting increased demand for labor and equipment.
When asked how much labor Harris County would require, Hudspeth replied that Harris County currently employs nearly 200 full-time employees but would need to double that to keep up with the demand the law would place on election staff.
Laura Rogers, County and District Clerk for Sherman County, shared her perspective on how the smallest and most rural districts are also facing increased strain due to the changes in early voting laws.
“Although the total number of voting days is similar, staffing 13 consecutive days is very different from normal business hours with limited weekend hours. Also, keep in mind that it takes about an hour to open the polls each day and about an hour to close the polls each day. So add on two hours each day of work for election officials; eliminating the break between early voting and Election Day removes Sherman County’s only opportunity to relocate equipment, prepare polling locations, complete required paperwork, and give workers a brief period of rest.”
“Several counties have expressed concern that increased hours on Sundays will make it harder to use churches for polling locations, which many counties rely on, and potentially limit our pool of election day workers,” noted Rogers. “Twelve consecutive days plus Election Day may also affect the ability to use schools and community building polling locations.”
Both Rogers and Hudspeth admitted that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the implementation of SB 2753.
“What works in urban counties does not mean the same for Sherman County,” said Rogers.
Concerning funding, State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R–Plano) pushed back on calls for more state money, arguing that counties already have the authority to raise local taxes and adjust budgets to cover new election costs. At the same time, he acknowledged that the Legislature routinely passes laws that add expenses for counties, saying he is “conflicted” because counties insist SB 2753 is an unfunded mandate while, in his view, counties by design are extensions of the state that fund state‑directed responsibilities through their own tax base.
Frank Phillips, election administrator for Denton County, raised a concern regarding polling equipment not being replaced after early voting ends.
Phillips noted that not replacing the equipment places a large logistical burden on the county’s licensed technicians. He said Denton County could either replace the machines, have licensed technicians reprogram them with the ballot styles for Election Day, or rely on the electronic poll book.
The second option would require technicians to work consecutive 40-hour shifts, whereas relying on the electronic poll book creates a potential risk of error in ballot styles.
Phillips suggested removing precinct-based voting and instead turning to county-based voting across the state.
Lawmakers asked for witnesses to deliver recommendations to address the issues before the next session.
