First Statewide Election Underway Since Controversial SB1 Voting Law Enacted, Thousands Of Mail-In Ballots Rejected

COLLIN COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Tuesday marks the first statewide election since a controversial new voting law called SB 1 went into effect. Election officials are reporting thousands of mail-in ballots that they have had to reject as a result.

The new law requires voters to provide their Texas ID number, driver's license, or last four digits of their social security number when applying for and casting a mail-in ballot. And the numbers have to match what's on their registration.

Collin County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet said that's where the confusion comes in.

"Anything that's brand new, that you haven't had to do for year and years and now you're required to do it, there's going to be a learning curve," he said.

Travis County reports rejecting around 12% of its mail-in ballots. In Harris County, that number is 29%. And Sherbet said Collin County is currently at a 14% rejection rate.

"Which is down from what we started with, which was 25%," he said. "So we're happy to see it's going in the right direction, but we still have some rejections that we're having to process."

Sherbet said the rejection numbers are higher than in any previous election.

"We really had just in single digits or double-digit rejections before. We have about 800 right now that are flagged for rejection because they're incomplete."

Voters should be notified if their ballot is rejected, and they have six days to remedy it. They can do that online, at their county office, or at their polling place today. Texas Secretary of State John Scott said they are working to educate voters and assist county election officials with necessary tools and resources, saying, "Our hope and aspiration is always that every single eligible Texas voter is able to cast a ballot."