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County Judge Peter Sakai and Elections Administrator Michele Carew (pictured at right) said temp workers are working \u201cvirtually around the clock\u201d to handle the massive backlog of voter registrations in time for November\u2019s election. Credit: Stephanie Koithan<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
In a phone conversation with the Current on the afternoon of Monday\u2019s registration deadline to vote in the November election, Carew said her staff processed 20,000 registrations last week \u2014 or 38% of the 52,000 backlog \u2014 despite working \u201caround the clock.\u201d Meanwhile, Carew added, voter registrations continued to pour in as Monday\u2019s deadline approached.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately that process itself was not as fast as we had hoped it would be,\u201d Carew said. \u201cWe still have them coming in daily and being updated nightly from [the Department of Public Safety],\u201d she said. \u201cSo our numbers are still going up and down, but we\u2019re still on track to get this done in time for early voting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carew also acknowledged that her staff is working long hours but said she\u2019s taken steps to mitigate burnout and isn\u2019t aware of mistakes made while processing the applications. <\/p>\n
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 \u201cburnout\u201d and \u201chigh turnover\u201d in the department.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the current rate, either the backlog will not be cleared in time, or many applications will contain errors,\u201d the person said via email. \u201cThese 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The staffer continued: \u201cAs 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
12-hour shifts<\/strong><\/p>\n Carew and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai had both told reporters at last week\u2019s press conference that staff would work \u201caround the clock\u201d to process the backlog, something the anonymous whistleblower said is ginning up stress inside the department. <\/p>\n \u201cStaff are currently working mandatory 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shifts, including weekends, without formal lunch breaks,\u201d the person said in their email. \u201cWorkers are expected to eat at their desks while continuing to process applications under tight deadlines.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s TEAM system, allowing staff to finally begin processing the overdue registrations.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of these will not be processed accurately or on time \u2014 yet the public has not been given the full picture,\u201d the whistleblower stated. \u201cThe transition to TEAM was initiated late and without adequate planning. Internally, we were unprepared for the data migration and technical demands \u2014 a fact that has been downplayed or omitted in public statements.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Despite the temporary setback, Carew said she remains hopeful that the county will process all registrations before early voting begins Oct. 20.<\/p>\n In November\u2019s highly anticipated election, local voters will decide whether to approve spending visitors\u2019 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.<\/p>\n Vendor closing down<\/strong><\/p>\n At last week\u2019s press conference, both Sakai and Carew blamed the voter registration backlog on the county\u2019s old voter registration system Votech going out of business in August. However, the county knew for months that it wouldn\u2019t be renewing its contract with the system, which was already threatening to go out of business for over a year.<\/p>\n The Elections Department whistleblower accused Sakai of trying to dodge blame for the backlog, and the county\u2019s delayed response to address it in time for the November election.<\/p>\n \u201cThis narrative is being shaped, in part, to protect the political image of\u00a0County Judge Peter Sakai, who appointed Administrator Carew and continues to shield her from accountability,\u201d the person said via email. Carew countered that she wasn\u2019t just hired into the position by Sakai but voted in unanimously by the Bexar County Election Commission.<\/p>\n The Current reached out to Sakai\u2019s office for comment on the accusation but got no response by press time Tuesday morning. <\/p>\n More workers on the job<\/strong><\/p>\n At last week\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n However, the whistleblower said Carew presented too rosy a picture of how long the work would take.<\/p>\n \u201cThese unrealistic expectations are leading to burnout, errors, and low morale among staff,\u201d the person added. <\/p>\n Carew told the Current that no staff members have approached her with these concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I have not seen any burnout,\u201d Carew said. \u201cNow, I will tell you, we\u2019ve been working very long hours since going live with TEAM. [\u2026] But I have not had anyone come in here and say \u2018Michele, I\u2019m burnt out.\u2019 I\u2019ve seen, you know, that they\u2019re tired.\u201d<\/p>\n Nonetheless, Carew told the Current that she met with management on Monday to make the schedule \u201cmore flexible\u201d for staff. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not robots, we\u2019re not designed to work seven days a week, 12 hours a day,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n To that end, Carew told the Current she\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Staff members now will be working in shifts to process voter registrations that have piled up since July 2. <\/p>\n \u201cSo, we\u2019ll be processing applications from 7 a .m. to 10:30 p.m. at night,\u201d Carew said.<\/p>\n In response to the accusations that staff were making errors because they\u2019re rushed and overworked, Carew said she hasn\u2019t noticed anything out of the norm.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not had any mistakes. [\u2026],\u201d Carew said. \u201cI\u2019m not saying mistakes aren\u2019t being made. What I\u2019m saying is that our voter registration manager, who\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Carew also maintains that some registrations do only take a few seconds. <\/p>\n In this case, she\u2019s specifically talking about \u201cduplicates\u201d in the system \u2014\u00a0people 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.<\/p>\n Pushing ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n The whistleblower also criticized Carew for a \u201cpattern of absenteeism\u201d since taking over her role as Elections Administrator in March, citing absences for personal events during Fiesta while the municipal election was underway.<\/p>\n \u201cAdministrator Carew has a troubling pattern of absenteeism during critical election periods,\u201d the person said in the Friday email. \u201cShe is not expected to be present this weekend, despite the urgent need to clear the backlog.\u201d<\/p>\n Carew confirmed with the Current that she wasn\u2019t on premises at the Elections Department this weekend, but said that doesn\u2019t mean she wasn\u2019t working. <\/p>\n Overall, the whistleblower said they were sounding the alarm \u201cout of deep concern for the integrity of our elections and the rights of Bexar County voters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe rushed implementation of new voting equipment and the flawed transition to the TEAM registration system pose serious risks to election accuracy and integrity,\u201d the staffer added.<\/p>\n However, the Election Department\u2019s decision to hire more staff with additional county funds could help work through the backlog while reducing workers\u2019 hours to avoid burnout, fatigue and errors, Carew told the Current.<\/p>\n Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tJudge Peter Sakai and Elections Administrator Michele Carew say all will be processed in time for October\u2019s Early Voting.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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