Beard campaign mailer confuses voters on mail-in ballot process
City Council candidate Scott Beard was back in the news Thursday when questions arose about a mailer sent this week by his campaign concerning voting by mail.
The wording of the mailout states: "In just a few weeks, you will receive a by-mail ballot. Be sure to vote by-mail when you receive your ballot."
The local election is May 6.
A general mailing of ballots is not how the process works.
On Thursday afternoon, an email was sent to local media by Taylor County Elections Administrator Freda Ragan to clarify the situation.
Her office had received calls about the wording on the mailer. One resident came into the office with questions, she said.
"She said 'I got this but I don't want a mail ballot,'" said Ragan, who told the resident that a mail ballot would not be sent unless it had been requested.
The resident asked whether this means voting in person was not possible.
Ragan told her, "You will always be able to vote in person."
The confusion prompted her office to issue notice of the correct voting procedure for mail-in ballots.
It began with a general reminder about the start of early voting Monday and where to vote, then went into detail to explain how a mail ballot can be obtained.
To start, the deadline to request a mail-in ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday.
A registered voter must apply to the county to receive a ballot. Some interpreted the Beard mailer to say he would be sending a mail ballot.
The application for a mail ballot must be submitted to the Taylor County elections office in writing and signed (in ink) by applicant. The application can be delivered in person, by mail or by a contract carrier (UPS, for example).
When approved, a ballot would be sent from the elections office.
Ragan also said Texas residents who are 65 and older and voters with a disability that prevents them for voting in person can request an annual mail ballot. That is, each year they apply to have ballots mailed to them throughout that year. When the calendar years ends, they must apply for the next year.
The names of voters who qualify for that courtesy are not given as public information by Ragan's office.
"(The mailer) was sent to those who have used mail-in ballots who are 65 and older. Evidently, it landed in a few homes of folks that weren't 65. Which can happen at times because people move," Beard said.
The candidate admitted he "misunderstood" the requirement that those 65 and older must re-up each year to get mail-in ballots.
Asked by the Reporter-News how he developed a mailing list, Beard referred to his campaign director.
Mike Stephens, who lives in Lubbock and said he currently is involved in campaigns in 28 Texas cities, said research showed that more people recently voted my mail, largely due to the pandemic. The number doubled from 400 to 800 per 100,000 voters, he said.
His basic voter information came for the elections office after a 2022 request for an updated voting registry for Taylor County. One objective was to remind those who voted in November, when the sanctuary city ordinance was passed, to vote again. The idea, he said, was that since it passed, many of those voters would be likely to vote for Beard, who was one of the key leaders in that effort.
Using voting information that is available to the public, the consultant said they studied when people voted - election day, early voting or absentee. Stephens went to absentee to mine data to use for the mailouts, he said. If a person voted absentee over a period of elections, they "were most likely" to vote by mail, he reasoned.
Stephens said the method is not perfect - people move and don't immediately update residency for elections - but effective enough to use.
This kind of in-depth research has not been used in Taylor County, he said.
"It's what you do ... to drive more votes, and hopefully drive more votes toward your candidate," Stephens said.
While not everyone in Abilene got a mailer, Beard's opponent for the Place 4 seat, Brian Yates, did get one.
Yates is 10 years shy of turning 65.
'It's not likely to have the desired effect," Yates said in a text to the Reporter-News. "I am not voting for him."
The issue put the county's elections office in a bind, Ragan said, and she called the Texas Secretary of State's office for guidance.
"My office, I can't really call out a candidate" because that would be viewed as her office attempting to influence an election, Ragan said. "I would be perceived as being for one candidate and not the other. I can't be part of anything politically."
She was advised to issue a clarification of the processes, and after consulting County Judge Phil Crowley, the media release was issued.
Those calling her office said they had not requested a mail ballot. Some said they were not even 65.
"They were perceiving that my office was just going to mail out ballots," Ragan said.
Some believed Beard would be sending those.
"He can't do that, right?" they asked Ragan.
"No," she said.
To those who call, Ragan said her office is apologizing for the confusion and explaining how the process works.
"It's settling down now but we're still going to get calls," she said.
Beard apologized for the confusion his mailer caused.
"I am sorry for the confusion" caused by the mailer and his followup explanations that, he admitted, were incorrect. "I in no way meant to implicate the county."
Beard said he was appreciative of the county elections office to work through the situation.
This week's issue adds another log to fire for Beard. The pastor of Fountaingate Fellowship, who led last year's successful effort to make Abilene a "sanctuary city for the unborn" by city ordinance, has been questioned about campaign signs posted at his and other churches and for promoting his campaign from the pulpit. That led to a confrontation with a local TV reporter, for which Beard apologized.
Campaign signs at Fountaingate have been removed, though signs still are posted at other churches in the city.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Beard campaign mailer confuses voters on mail-in ballot process
