NPR (AUDIO): In the wake of 2020, election officials are beleaguered

11.4.2021 / By Ashley Lopez
NPR (AUDIO): In the wake of 2020, election officials are beleaguered

Anthony Gutierrez with Common Cause Texas says whether this is a good thing kind of depends. ANTHONY GUTIERREZ: You know, it really can go both ways. I mean, you see some election administrators who do a really good job because they're professionals who stay in that job for decades in some cases. LOPEZ: But, Gutierrez says, sometimes appointments can be pretty political. For example, he says, Governor Greg Abbott recently appointed a new elections chief for the state who was part of President Trump's legal team trying to overturn 2020 election results in Pennsylvania. Gutierrez says, in those situations, voters can't weigh in at the ballot box to vote someone out. He says this is why he thinks for this model to work, there needs to be transparency. GUTIERREZ: With this type of an appointment system, you really need to have citizens involved. You need to have a public, transparent interview process, where you have multiple candidates that people can interact with.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It is a hard time to be an election worker. In Michigan, election workers in 2020 counted ballots while a mob fueled by lies pounded on the glass. In Georgia, a Republican election official warned that lies would lead to violence. And the pressure has continued in 2021.

Ashley Lopez of KUT begins this story with an election worker in Texas.

ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE: In Texas, elections are run almost entirely by county officials – people like Isabel Longoria in Harris County, which is where Houston is. Longoria says she loves this job. And she thinks most people who do this kind of work feel the same way. …

LOPEZ: Out of the 254 counties in Texas, Garza says, at last count, half have switched to election administrator positions. He says he’s seeing that number continue to grow. This means fewer voters in Texas will be directly electing the people who run their elections.

Anthony Gutierrez with Common Cause Texas says whether this is a good thing kind of depends.

ANTHONY GUTIERREZ: You know, it really can go both ways. I mean, you see some election administrators who do a really good job because they’re professionals who stay in that job for decades in some cases.

LOPEZ: But, Gutierrez says, sometimes appointments can be pretty political. For example, he says, Governor Greg Abbott recently appointed a new elections chief for the state who was part of President Trump’s legal team trying to overturn 2020 election results in Pennsylvania. Gutierrez says, in those situations, voters can’t weigh in at the ballot box to vote someone out. He says this is why he thinks for this model to work, there needs to be transparency.

GUTIERREZ: With this type of an appointment system, you really need to have citizens involved. You need to have a public, transparent interview process, where you have multiple candidates that people can interact with.

To listen to the full story, click here.

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