No voting issues reported

Despite having received questions concerning votes changing, Jack County Clerk Vanessa James said she has received no reports of any such issues as of Tuesday afternoon.

James said 334 voters cast their ballots on Monday, the first day of early voting. As of Thursday morning, 826 people had voted.

With 5,080 registered voters in the county, 16 percent have cast their ballots within the first three days.

James said she has seen claims on social media that voters saw in the summary after making their selections, their choice for president had changed. 

She has had voters ask her about the claims, but has had no one report such an issue while voting. She advises all voters to thoroughly check the summary of their votes.

“The ballot is five pages long on the machine. Once you go through it, it brings up a summary. On the left side is the office and the right side shows the people chosen on your ballot,” James explained. “That’s a double-check for you. You can look at it and make sure that’s what you’re choosing before you hit the cast ballot button.”

As for the security of the ballots, James said the mobile ballot boxes, manufactured by Hart, are sealed until after the polls close election night. Election judges bring the boxes to the sheriff, the seals are checked, then broken by officials to be tallied.

“They cannot connect at any time to the internet,” James added. “On the night of the tally, we put a zero in and print it, then start reading the MBBs.”

Early voting will continue at the courthouse weekdays through Nov. 4. Today is the last day to get an application in to the clerk’s office to receive a ballot by mail for those who are over 65 years old, absent from the county or disabled.

For those who are disabled, the clerk’s office offers curbside voting. An election worker will bring a voting machine right to the car.

James said before heading to the courthouse, call the clerk’s office at 940-567-2111, and staff will give instructions on how to vote curbside.