With election security getting so much attention, KPRC 2 went behind the scenes in Galveston County to see exactly what’s being done to protect your vote.
Galveston County Clerk Dwight Sullivan has been in office since 2011. In that time, he says he’s only seen two cases of someone attempting to vote twice. One appeared to be an honest mistake. The other was flagged and prosecuted.
Sullivan walked KPRC 2 through the layers of safeguards his office uses — from the ballot room to the voting machine — to catch problems before they become bigger issues.
It starts with the ballot board room, where mail-in ballot signatures are compared and verified.
“This is the room where our ballot board will meet,” Sullivan said. “The ballot board will compare signatures on any discrepancies regarding ballot by mail votes. There are two seats per table — because Democrats and Republicans both have to look at it.”
Cameras are rolling at election headquarters 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Observers watching the livestream can even identify who’s in each room by the color-coded vests worn by staff and volunteers.
“If you’re watching the livestream, you’ll know whether they are central count members, poll watchers or early voting ballot board members,” Sullivan said.
When it comes to the physical ballots themselves, Sullivan says security is built into every step of the process.
“At every voting location, we have locked ballot bags and boxes,” Sullivan said. “Those are given duplicate keys — one is kept by a sheriff’s deputy, one is held by the election judge. Anytime there’s any movement, two keys are required to open that box.”
Cybersecurity is taken just as seriously. Sullivan says every person with access to the state database undergoes a full FBI NCIC background check, a fingerprint check and a local criminal history check. Annual cybersecurity training is also required.
And for anyone worried about voting machines being hacked — Sullivan wants to set the record straight.
“No voting machine is connected to the internet,” Sullivan said. “Your ballot is cast on paper. There’s a paper backup as well as an electronic scanned copy image that is saved. Those are compared after the fact. We do random audits on that as required by state law — and we go a little bit further than that, just to assure the public everything is safe.”
Sullivan also addressed a rumor that has been circulating locally — one that generated about 30 calls to his office. The concern? That initials found on a blank ballot could wipe out a voter’s choices.
Not true, Sullivan says.
“Chapter 61 of the Texas Election Code states that the county clerk, or the presiding judge of the location, shall have their initials on the ballot to assure that you received a secure ballot that was blank when you received it,” Sullivan said. “Those initials are not going to wipe out your votes.”
Voters with questions or concerns can contact the Galveston County Clerk’s office directly.
