Travis County Commissioners Court
February 28, 2012 (Agenda)
Item A1
>> we have everybody here on the -- on the voter registration item?
a 1.
we do or should we take a few more minutes?
a 1 is to receive update and take appropriate action on status of preparation and distribution of voter registration certificates to Travis County residents.
and let's indicate our intention to go into executive session after our discussion of a 1.
good morning.
>> good morning.
>> dee lopez, voter registration director for the Travis County tax office.
good to see you, judge and Commissioners.
you know, we -- we have a dilemma, we do not have the new maps to be able to draw lines for the 2012 elections.
primarily the primary election.
today we are -- we are working towards a may 29th primary.
but we have not received court orders yet, actually, identifying may 29th as the primary election date.
there have been no other dates identified, either, in terms of filing deadlines, early voting periods, et cetera.
what we have now, however, is a -- is a lot of misinformation in the community.
primarily voter certificates expired, the blue ones, expired December 31, 2011, we have voters thinking that they're not registered.
we have voters thinking they're not going to be eligible to participate in the 2012 elections until they see their voter certificate.
the conundrum is that I can't issue voter certificates unless I have the new boundary maps.
we anticipate all of the elections administrators told the court in san antonio that for us to have a may 29th election, we must have the maps by March 2nd, which is this Friday.
all indications are that we may be able to receive a map by March 2nd, but -- but haven't gotten them yet.
so what we're faced with right now is a lot of confusion in the community.
a lot of misinformation.
so I would like to use this opportunity to just give you a quick briefing on what we're doing in terms of allaying some of those concerns.
one, we have already loaded and when I say the state legislative map, I'm talking about the very first map.
the one that's the state legislature -- that the state legislature drew up.
we came to you in October and we received your approval on the county Commissioner lines, the j.p.
lines and the Commissioner lines.
submitted those to the department of justice and received preclearance on those lines.
so Travis County on that first map is good to go.
we --
>> let's say that again!
>> we're good to go
>> [laughter] barring any further changes, which we do anticipate some changes.
there wouldn't be a lot of this litigation without some changes.
we have already loaded all of our gis system with the mapping information and all of our new lines.
Commissioner, jp's, state-wide districts, et cetera.
what we haven't done is we have not loaded that to the voter database because the state maps have not been precleared so we're holding off.
what does that do for us if I get the map on March 2nd?
it will take us three weeks, my office three weeks, to be able to update the changes, load all of the new information, from the point that you give approval to any adjusted Commissioner, jp and county election precinct line, once you receive that, we need about three weeks to load all of the information into our database system, verify it and audit it.
that will give dana debeauvoir's office, our county clerk, time to start programming the ballot.
at the while that we are issuing voter certificates.
so it's very probable that for the may 12th election, we will have -- we will be able to use the new boundaries.
so they will not be con -- there will be no confusion any longer for all of the 2012 elections we would be able to use the new lines.
but that's only if I get a map this week.
the further that we go, the more it gets to be a little more convoluted and confusing because it's highly probable, if we get a map much later than March 2nd, we will have to use the current line, what I'm calling 2012 before we got the map from the legislature, we'll have to use the current lines for the may 12th election, and then while we're working towards the may 29th primary, with the new maps, so you can see where there is confusion in the community.
we really want to get that map in time so that we can use it for all 2012 elections, I can get certificates in the mail to every voter, telling them your precinct line is -- your precinct number is this, your districts are this, and by the way, you are still registered, which is what people are looking for.
and by the way, the new cards are yellow.
so this is kind of the state of affairs as they sit today.
as soon as I get that map, we need that three-week period, we'll be coming to you very quickly, giving you any adjustments that need to be made on the county election, jp and Commissioner lines, we will be submitting those for an expedited doj preclearance and then we can move forward.
now, we're one of the -- we're one of the lucky counties because we've done a lot of the work already.
there are many, many counties in Texas that have not done this much work.
so they will need additional time.
but for travis, we're in good shape.
again, as long as we get the maps.
in short order.
>> and as long as neither party appeals the maps, correct?
>> right.
>> which is still a possibility.
>> there's a lot of possibilities.
absolutely.
there are many possibilities.
>> a lot of uncertainties.
>> yes.
>> but in the meantime, people are registered.
if they had that blue one.
>> and that's the big impetus of me being here.
people, you are registered to vote in Travis County because your voter registration card expired, it's the card only that has expired.
you are registered.
if you have moved, you just need to update your address, we'll put you in the -- when we get the new precincts, we'll update your address today.
if you had a name change, we'll update that.
but unless you moved from travis, you are registered still in Travis County.
you do not need to reapply unless you have moved or changed your name.
the card is the only thing that has expired.
>> there is also still time to register to vote for this election.
>> absolutely.
>> I -- one silver lining is we're still six weeks out.
>> right.
the deadline for the may 12th election is April 12th.
the deadline for the may 29th election, I think, is April 30th.
so there's plenty of time to register and update your address.
I just want to let people know there is no reason to fear and panic.
I didn't just wipe the voter rolls off.
you are still registered.
it's just your card that has expired.
>> for folks that may not be aware of what we are doing in this process or how the process even works, is there a telephone number whereby folks can give you a call, that are listening to this particular publication today, to get clarity if there is uncertainty in their minds as far as what we talked about here today.
>> thank you, absolutely.
our main number is 854-9473.
that's 854-9473 or you could also come online to www.traviscountytax.org.
one word.
www.traviscountytax.org.
we are updating, facebook, twitter, our website with the latest and greatest information.
the minute, the minute we get that map, we're going to post it, we're going to post that information, kind of give an update on where we're at, what process we're in, for instance, once we get the map and review it, we're going to say that we're going to come before Commissioners to get any adjustmented lines approved.
and when we anticipate certificates to hit the mail.
so -- so we want to be able to let people know that there are other methods besides, you know, this misinformation they are receiving.
you can come online, you can call us.
come by our office, 7:30 to 5:30, Monday to Friday, if you would like, we will share with you where we're at in the process.
as soon as I can get that map, believe me, we are so ready.
the ironic part of this is a week from today is super Tuesday.
we would have been having our election in Texas, our primary election next Tuesday.
we're ready to go.
we're ready for the election to come and --
>> glad to hear you make those comments because again, as we've gone through the community and we've gone to different type of -- type of settings, there is still a lot of confusion out there among the residents.
they really are not sure on where we are, what we're doing per se, but all across the state of Texas, you are hearing the same kind of concerns.
I'm just glad that you are here to kind of bring us a status report as far as what we're doing here today.
>> again, we're in good shape.
we've done a lot of preliminary work based on that first map.
hoping that there will be some changes and if there will be, they'll be somewhat quick to try to adjust so that we can submit that expedited document to d.o.j.
for preclearance, on come to you to get some adjusted lines done, we'll probably want to keep your assistants, if needed, so we can continue an agenda item open so once we get those maps we can do our work, come to see, say this is where the lines need to be adjusted so we can submit it.
we'll be working, believe me, around the clock to get everything ready because we want to have, in Travis County, as much as we can, all elections in 2012 using the new maps.
there's less confusion that way.
so the voter can get their certificate in time for may 12th and for may 29th and all of the other elections that are being held this summer.
>> what's the deadline for the
>> [indiscernible]
>> April 12th, the voter deadline is April 12th.
>> > so register.
>> to register to vote.
>> April 12th.
>> any other questions or comments?
so we should carry this item week to week until there's resolution of some sort.
>> yes, sir, that would be beneficial so we're not waiting to get on your agenda, it will be there as soon as we can, we'll be here.
we'll be meeting with you certainly before that to show you where your particular lines would be changed.
>> we'll make it happen.
>> thanks.
>> thank you.
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
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