<aside> 🗳️ About This Report
This report aims to build confidence in Texas’s voting system by shedding light on the processes, checks, and quality assurance steps in place that ensure fair and free elections, and, ultimately, a stronger democracy.
In most states we attempt to provide a full overview of the all key post-vote processes. For Texas, however, we focused our research on the canvass and certification. Therefore, in this report you will find a detailed overview of Texas canvass and certification, including the state and county offices and personnel responsible for overseeing and conducting canvass and certification, as well as a timeline of key dates. We have also identified potential process and personnel vulnerabilities to better help our pro-democracy partners monitor our elections and target corrective action to protect the integrity of our elections.
Please note, throughout the report, the blue ballot icon indicates research on legal and election process questions. The orange ballot icon indicates strategic research and potential threats. If you would like to share any feedback on this report or have questions for our research team, contact us at: [email protected].
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Texas, as the second-largest U.S. state, possesses a large and complex election system that is overseen by the Secretary of State and Elections Division. At the county level, there is significant variation in how all 254 counties administer elections and to whom they delegate key election responsibilities.
Regarding canvass and certification, the governing body of each county— i.e., the County Commissioners Courts — meet in the days following the election to conduct the county canvasses and certify the official county returns. At the state level, the Governor and the State Legislature are responsible for their respective state canvasses, which are facilitated by the Secretary of State. Both officials certify the offices they canvass and declare winning candidates elected.
Additionally, Texas has a number of safeguards in place intended to ensure the integrity of its election processes, including provisions in the election code that may be used to to compel election officers to fulfill their election duties, if they are delaying or refusing to do so, and in severe cases charge officials both criminally and civilly. Notably, in recent years, the state legislature and some executive officers have seemed to act in a clearly partisan manner — particularly through legislation targeting Harris County — potentially impacting confidence in the impartial administration of elections in the state.
This section provides information about the key officers and personnel in charge of election administration in Texas relating to canvass and certification. Click on each office below for complete details.
County Elections Administrator / County Clerk / Tax-Assessor-Collector
This section provides information about canvass and certification at the state and county levels.
Legal Protections for Canvass + Certification
While we believe in the security of elections in Texas, we are watching out for efforts to undermine elections through the delay of certification, open-ended legal challenges, and attempts to hand count ballots. Moreover, the size and complexity of Texas elections remain an administrative challenge for state and county officials. Beyond that, we are concerned about the continued politicization of election processes by the state government through legislation targeting Harris County and politically motivated prosecutions by the Attorney General. Read more about these potential vulnerabilities here:
Potential 2024 Election Vulnerabilities in Texas
The bullets below show key dates and deadlines Texas election officials must follow to conduct the county and state canvass and certification of elections. Please notethat the initial tallying of votes following the close of polls, or the unofficial returns, are not included in the dates below.
🟢 = Federally set dates; 🟠 = County Canvass + Certification; 🔵 = Governor's State Canvass + Certification; 🔴 = State Legislature's State Canvass + Certification.