Bexar County Elections Department falls short on plan to clear 80% of voter application backlog

Temp workers sit ready to process voter registrations at Bexar County Elections Office. County Judge Peter Sakai and Elections Administrator Michele Carew (pictured at right) said temp workers are working “virtually around the clock” to handle the massive backlog of voter registrations in time for November’s election. Credit: Stephanie Koithan

The Bexar County Elections Department has fallen behind its effort to process a backlog of at least 52,000 voter registrations, its top official told the Current.

At a press conference last Monday, Bexar County Elections Administrator Michele Carew said she expected process up to 80% of the registration backlog by Friday of that week. However, by the end of the week, staff had only gotten through little more than a third of the total, according to Carew.

Potentially complicating matters, a staffer at the department who contacted the Current anonymously warned that employees trying to whittle away at the backlog are fatigued, dispirited and likely to make mistakes as they process applications.

In a phone conversation with the Current on the afternoon of Monday’s registration deadline to vote in the November election, Carew said her staff processed 20,000 registrations last week — or 38% of the 52,000 backlog — despite working “around the clock.” Meanwhile, Carew added, voter registrations continued to pour in as Monday’s deadline approached.

“Unfortunately that process itself was not as fast as we had hoped it would be,” Carew said. “We still have them coming in daily and being updated nightly from [the Department of Public Safety],” she said. “So our numbers are still going up and down, but we’re still on track to get this done in time for early voting.”

Carew also acknowledged that her staff is working long hours but said she’s taken steps to mitigate burnout and isn’t aware of mistakes made while processing the applications.

Even so, the Elections Department whistleblower, who obscured their identity for fear of being punished, told the Current that demands on overextended staff are causing “burnout” and “high turnover” in the department.

“At the current rate, either the backlog will not be cleared in time, or many applications will contain errors,” the person said via email. “These outcomes could lead to widespread voter disenfranchisement and legal challenges. Yet the focus within county leadership appears to be on minimizing political fallout, not correcting the root problems.”

The staffer continued: “As a current employee, I am witnessing critical operational failures that are being misrepresented to the public. These issues pose significant risks to the upcoming election and voter confidence in the process.”

12-hour shifts

Carew and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai had both told reporters at last week’s press conference that staff would work “around the clock” to process the backlog, something the anonymous whistleblower said is ginning up stress inside the department.

“Staff are currently working mandatory 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shifts, including weekends, without formal lunch breaks,” the person said in their email. “Workers are expected to eat at their desks while continuing to process applications under tight deadlines.”

Carew confirmed that, starting Wednesday, staff began working 12-hour shifts, including through the weekend. Action kicked into high gear last week when Bexar County went online with the Texas Secretary of State’s TEAM system, allowing staff to finally begin processing the overdue registrations.

“Many of these will not be processed accurately or on time — yet the public has not been given the full picture,” the whistleblower stated. “The transition to TEAM was initiated late and without adequate planning. Internally, we were unprepared for the data migration and technical demands — a fact that has been downplayed or omitted in public statements.”

Carew said the department failed to meet its 80% target last week due in part to glitch in the new system that set back staff’s efforts by two and a half days. The glitch caused employees to see the same application pop up five more times in the results after it was processed.

Despite the temporary setback, Carew said she remains hopeful that the county will process all registrations before early voting begins Oct. 20.

In November’s highly anticipated election, local voters will decide whether to approve spending visitors’ tax dollars on new Spurs arena with Prop B, presenting the biggest chance to make their voices heard on the controversial Project Marvel. Meanwhile, Prop A proposes turning Freeman Coliseum and Frost Bank Center into a year-round rodeo and stock show district.

Vendor closing down

At last week’s press conference, both Sakai and Carew blamed the voter registration backlog on the county’s old voter registration system Votech going out of business in August. However, the county knew for months that it wouldn’t be renewing its contract with the system, which was already threatening to go out of business for over a year.

The Elections Department whistleblower accused Sakai of trying to dodge blame for the backlog, and the county’s delayed response to address it in time for the November election.

“This narrative is being shaped, in part, to protect the political image of County Judge Peter Sakai, who appointed Administrator Carew and continues to shield her from accountability,” the person said via email. Carew countered that she wasn’t just hired into the position by Sakai but voted in unanimously by the Bexar County Election Commission.

The Current reached out to Sakai’s office for comment on the accusation but got no response by press time Tuesday morning.

More workers on the job

At last week’s press conference, Carew said processing the backlog would go quickly, in part because each registration would take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.

However, the whistleblower said Carew presented too rosy a picture of how long the work would take.

“These unrealistic expectations are leading to burnout, errors, and low morale among staff,” the person added.

Carew told the Current that no staff members have approached her with these concerns.

“Personally, I have not seen any burnout,” Carew said. “Now, I will tell you, we’ve been working very long hours since going live with TEAM. […] But I have not had anyone come in here and say ‘Michele, I’m burnt out.’ I’ve seen, you know, that they’re tired.”

Nonetheless, Carew told the Current that she met with management on Monday to make the schedule “more flexible” for staff.

“We’re not robots, we’re not designed to work seven days a week, 12 hours a day,” she added.

To that end, Carew told the Current she’s hired an additional 30 temporary workers to deal with the backlog in addition to the eight temps already brought on to assist permanent staff with processing.

Staff members now will be working in shifts to process voter registrations that have piled up since July 2.

“So, we’ll be processing applications from 7 a .m. to 10:30 p.m. at night,” Carew said.

In response to the accusations that staff were making errors because they’re rushed and overworked, Carew said she hasn’t noticed anything out of the norm.

“We have not had any mistakes. […],” Carew said. “I’m not saying mistakes aren’t being made. What I’m saying is that our voter registration manager, who’s over that department, has not seen any mistakes as of yet. So, you know, mistakes are going to happen as people get tired. You know, you can put numbers in backwards or even letters in reverse order.”

Carew also maintains that some registrations do only take a few seconds.

In this case, she’s specifically talking about “duplicates” in the system — people who, when obtaining a new drivers license, check the box registering to vote even though they are already registered to vote and have the same address in the system. Since nothing needs to be updated, these duplicates are cleared quickly, Carew explained.

Pushing ahead

The whistleblower also criticized Carew for a “pattern of absenteeism” since taking over her role as Elections Administrator in March, citing absences for personal events during Fiesta while the municipal election was underway.

“Administrator Carew has a troubling pattern of absenteeism during critical election periods,” the person said in the Friday email. “She is not expected to be present this weekend, despite the urgent need to clear the backlog.”

Carew confirmed with the Current that she wasn’t on premises at the Elections Department this weekend, but said that doesn’t mean she wasn’t working.

Overall, the whistleblower said they were sounding the alarm “out of deep concern for the integrity of our elections and the rights of Bexar County voters.”

“The rushed implementation of new voting equipment and the flawed transition to the TEAM registration system pose serious risks to election accuracy and integrity,” the staffer added.

However, the Election Department’s decision to hire more staff with additional county funds could help work through the backlog while reducing workers’ hours to avoid burnout, fatigue and errors, Carew told the Current.

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Bexar County Elections Department falls short on plan to clear 80% of voter application backlog

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