Managing the vote: Texas sees high turnover of election administrators since 2020 election
NORTH TEXAS — A CBS News investigation has found since the 2020 election, Texas has seen a high turnover rate of people who oversee the elections in the state's 254 counties.
More than one-third of the election administrators and county clerks are new as the 2024 election approaches.
"I think it's going to be an intense season coming after the 2020 election," said Dallas County Election Administrator Heider Garcia. "There's been a lot of pressure, and the tone and social media can be very difficult."
For Garcia and others who run elections in counties across Texas, the political pressure has been a challenge.
Garcia said while it hasn't been a big problem for him in Dallas County, it certainly was when he oversaw elections in Tarrant County. He remembers being harassed.
"I've been threatened," said Garcia. "If you go back to 2020, post-election, it was very, very difficult for me and my family. How many people have said things about me that I've been accused in countries abroad or that I have criminal charges and it's just this intent to break your spine."
That pressure he said led other election administrators to leave their jobs.
Two years ago, in Gillespie County, home to Fredericksburg, Texas, the election administrator and her small staff all quit, citing stalking and death threats that began after people made false claims about the 2020 election.
Audits conducted of the elections in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Harris counties by the Texas Secretary of State's Office found while there were a few irregularities, there was no widespread fraud and the election was secure.
A report by the Bipartisan Policy Center released in April found, "Increased hostility could be contributing to recent increases in turnover, with election officials and administration facing heightened scrutiny, threats, and harassment."
The center found Texas' turnover rate of county elections officials as of January this year was 41%, meaning more than one-third are new compared to those who had the job in 2020.
A CBS News analysis of research from the OSET Institute found that since 2020, 77 of the state's 254 counties lost at least one election administrator or county clerk who ran elections.
At least 13 Texas counties lost more than one election administrator or county clerk.
They include Hamilton County in North Central Texas, which is on its fourth county clerk in four years.
In Dallas County, Garcia is the third person to hold the job since 2020.
There's no indication that past election administrators in Dallas County were harassed.
But Edward Perez, an OSET board member for the nonprofit Institute, said the recent trend across Texas is troubling.
"By any number, it is an unprecedented number of election officials that are leaving the profession," said Perez. "It is something that is new and has been greatly accelerated just in the past few years."
At a recent conference, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson met directly with elections officials from across Texas and offered them emotional support.
CBS News Texas traveled to Austin for the conference and asked the Secretary of State why she gave a pep talk to election administrators and county clerks.
"I wanted to tell them face to face how very, very grateful I am for the work they do," Nelson said.
During a speech to hundreds of elections officials from across the state, Nelson said, "Our elections are in good hands."
Aside from updating election officials on new legislation and rules this year, the Secretary of State's Office is, for the first time, also providing a lesson on stress management.
Nelson told the gathering, "There are going to be people who get up in your face, angry, and they didn't like something that happened. Just take it in and let it go."
In an interview with CBS News Texas after her speech, Nelson said they want to prevent more election officials from leaving.
"I think perhaps the reason we lost some is that they weren't able to handle that," said Nelson. "And we want to make sure that they can."
CBS News found with all the election administrators and county clerks who've left since 2020, the state has lost 416 years of experience.
That could impact 60% of registered voters in Texas: now more than 18 million people.
When asked how big of a deal that is, Dallas County Election Administrator Heider Garcia didn't hesitate.
"It is. Experience lets you not skip over things that have happened in the past," Garcia said. "And it comes into play a lot when you run into unforeseen circumstances. You know how to react better, you've been through this, you don't overlook things, stress. It does make a difference."
Garcia said he's grateful for the Secretary of State's support for all election administrators and county clerks.
He believes members of the public should sign up to be poll watchers or be on the ballot board, which he believes would increase trust in elections.
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