ELECTION INTEGRITYTop Texas Election Official Acknowledges Threats to Ballot Secrecy
Soon after the November 2020 election, as former President Donald Trump and his allies promoted baseless theories that his reelection loss was caused by voting fraud, election-related public record requests increased. Lawmakers, responding to pressure from groups seeking more access to election records, passed House Bill 5180, allowing public access to those records just 61 days after election day. But rules and practices meant to promote transparency also create vulnerabilities for voters, lawmakers were told.
A top state election official acknowledged that Texas’ efforts to increase election transparency have made it easier to breach the secrecy of the ballot and discover how some people vote.
In testimony to state lawmakers Wednesday, Christina Adkins, the election division director for the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, confirmed reporting this week from Votebeat and The Texas Tribune that found the choices voters make in the private voting booth can later be identified in some cases using public, legally available records. Lawmakers and county election officials have made such records easier to access in recent years.
Adkins also confirmed that election officials and the Texas Secretary of State’s office have been concerned about the possibility that ballot secrecy was compromised.
“What we have discovered, and I think what a lot of election officials as a community have been very worried about, is that as we’ve increased this level of transparency, it has made this information easier to discover,” Adkins said.
She added: “It’s not just any one feature on a ballot. It’s usually a combination of records, maybe certain information about polling locations and where people vote, combined with the precinct number on that ballot.”
Soon after the November 2020 election, as former President Donald Trump and his allies promoted baseless theories that his reelection loss was caused by voting fraud, election-related public record requests increased. Requestors often asked to inspect original voted ballots, ballot images, and cast vote records — electronic records of how voters voted.
During the 2023 Texas legislative session, lawmakers responding to pressure from conservatives seeking more access to election records overwhelmingly passed House Bill 5180, allowing public access to those records just 61 days after election day.
Earlier this month, an independent news site published what it said was the ballot of former Republican Party of Texas Chair Matt Rinaldi, cast in the March 5 GOP primary. The site didn’t fully explain how it linked the ballot image to Rinaldi, who has neither confirmed nor denied that it was his ballot.
Votebeat and the Tribune were able to verify and replicate a series of steps to identify a specific person’s ballot choices using public records. But to protect the secrecy of the ballot, the two news outlets are not detailing the precise information needed or the process used to match ballot images with individual voters.
Adkins said the availability of election records is meant to promote “confidence and auditability” in elections.
