East DFW News

With communities across the country preparing for a record number of voters to cast their ballots by mail, the heated debate continues over the potential pitfalls of an election in which mail-in votes will play a bigger part in deciding the outcome than ever before.

Jimmy Weaver, the Kaufman County Republican Party chair, told the East DFW News that Texas counties do not have the resources that would be needed to ensure a completely mail-in election is both fair and secure.

“Wide-scale vote by mail will not work,” Weaver said. “I know the issues that go along with mail-in ballots and no county is prepared nor equipped to that challenge.”

As someone who has worked in the election process, Weaver said that in a normal year mail-in ballots only comprise a small percentage of the entire vote.

In Kaufman County, less than 2% of the ballots counted each election cycle are cast by mail, Weaver told the East DFW News. And that is a county with a population of 125,000 with 78,000 registered voters.

By that calculation, even if every registered voter cast a ballot, in a normal election year only approximately 1,500 mail-in ballots would need to be checked, counted and kept secure throughout the process.

“Even at that small level it is a challenge to ensure the process is fair and accurate,” Weaver told the East DFW News.

Adding to that burden would create a situation that no Texas county is ready for, he said. And it would likely lead to endless legal challenges long after the election is concluded.

“We are just not staffed nor equipped for total vote by mail,” Weaver said. “Beyond not being able to physically deal with it, voter fraud and disenfranchisement would present a continued, ongoing legal battle that could never be satisfied. In a presidential election year, it would never end.”