HOUSTON — Keeping your vote safe and secure is a big job. So how does it work in the Lone Star State?
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission certifies all voting systems and software across the country, and here in Texas, the Secretary of State also reviews and approves the systems.
Those machines cannot have the ability to connect to the internet and are tested before ballots are cast. They are also tested immediately after Election Day.
Mail-in ballots can be processed before election night, but that is not the case in some other states.
Election workers open and review the envelopes containing the ballots to make sure those newly required I.D. numbers are filled out correctly.
But those mail-in votes aren’t actually counted until the end of early voting in larger counties or the morning of Election Day in smaller counties.
Whether mail-in or in-person, you can also make sure your ballot was actually counted. Counties are required to report if someone cast a ballot in an election to the Texas Secretary of State.
Some of the bigger counties will make this information available on their election websites and the secretary of state posts it online as well.
But that information does not include who you voted for, just that your vote was recorded.