By d-mars.com News Provider
Every election is imperative for voter participation. But especially during this time where our country is facing challenges of injustices, rising racial divide, and the unforeseen and unprecedented economic and health effects of COVID-19, no American can afford to be indifferent in exercising their right to vote this November. In addition to the high-quality service maintaining county records, the Harris County Clerk’s Office has the responsibility of managing all elections. Under the leadership of Chris Hollins, Harris County Clerk, this department continues its efforts, successfully overseeing the election process with integrity for every vote to count.
Hollins as the County Clerk is the administrator of elections, executing electoral operations defined by state and federal regulations. Taking into consideration that this county is the third largest in the United States with more than 145 different languages spoken in Houston, some components of the Harris County Clerk’s voter outreach initiatives in multilingual services are monthly Advisory Committee meetings collaborating with groups covered by the language provisions of the 1975 Voting Rights Act (VRA), hiring bilingual election workers, and virtual translation assistance. Working with the Commissioners Court, the Tax Assessor Collector, the major political parties, and other stakeholders, Hollins institutes an elections infrastructure that facilitates access to the voting process to all the diverse citizens of Harris County.
d-mars.com sat down with Chris Hollins, Harris County Clerk, about his office’s efforts helping to ensure a safe and fair voting process for this historic election:
- How will you continue to progress Houston’s voter process to be fair and safe for all with the AG and Governor’s office opposing your efforts that are disenfranchising voters? Despite efforts by the Governor, the Attorney General, and the partisan Supreme Court, the November election in Harris County will be the safest and most accessible election in the history of Texas. My office has implemented innovative measures such as Drive-Thru Voting and 24-hour voting. Additionally, we have tripled the number of voting centers across the County, compared to 2016. We remain deeply committed to protecting the right to vote for every Harris County voter, and nothing will stand in our way.
- Talk about some of the changes in the Harris County Clerk’s Office under your leadership made to adapt to the challenges of COVID-19. And do you expect/hope these changes to be long-term/permanent after November? Our top priority is to ensure that Harris County voters can cast their ballot safely. That said, many of the changes we have made in the past few months are long overdue and should certainly be continued after the pandemic. We will always promote the right to vote by mail for seniors and voters with disabilities. Along with that, our online Ballot Tracking tool allows citizens who choose to vote by mail to track and verify that their ballot has been received by my office. Going forward, we will certainly continue to provide expanded voting hours, numerous accessible Voting Centers, and Drive-Thru Voting options.
- What is your goal for the percentage of voters for this upcoming election? Under your leadership as County Clerk, do you feel we will reach/exceed that goal even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? We want EVERY registered voter to make their voice heard at the polls this fall, and we are doing everything in our power to enable Harris County voters to access the ballot box. This will definitely be the highest turnout election in recent Harris County history. Peak turnout in the 2000s has been 62%, and we will almost certainly see turnout above 65% this year. We are prepared for as many as 1.8 million voters to cast their ballots.
- What challenges do you expect on Election Day, and how has your office been proactive in planning for these challenges, making for a successful Election Day process for Harris County? Voters are concerned with safety and convenience, and they want to be sure that their votes count. We are doing everything we can to make sure that voting is safe, from PPE to Plexiglas, to sanitizing, to social distancing. To increase access and reduce long lines, we have a record number of voting centers (over 800 on Election Day), and we have deployed 50% more voting machines than ever before. We have taken numerous steps to ensure a secure voting process, and we expect to be able to share results with the public quickly and accurately on Election Night.
- We know that your term as County Clerk ends when a new clerk is elected in November, but can we expect to see you working with Harris County political leaders, continuing to serve in the area of politics, voter rights, etc., after November? Serving as County Clerk has made it even more clear to me how far Texas has to go when it comes to voting rights. Many of our laws are fundamentally damaged, and countless others are ignored or misused to keep Texans from exercising their Constitutional rights. I will continue to be vocal about these issues, and I intend to remain active to help create the change necessary for Texans to exercise this right.
Hollins encourages Harris County to vote EARLY to avoid long lines on Election Day. The Early Voting period runs from Tuesday, October 13, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020. Visit HarrisVotes.com for voting information. To read more about Chris Hollins and the Harris County Clerk’s Office, please visit HarrisVotes.com.
Source: www.harrisvotes.org
