(Seguin) – The elections administrator for Guadalupe County is giving voters a behind-the-scenes update following the Tuesday, Nov. 5 Presidential and General Election.
In her post wrap-up, Hayes says things could not have gone any better.
“I would say that putting early voting and election day together, overall, that it was a good election. We had about a 65.5 percent turnout overall. We don’t have final numbers yet because there are 1,160 provisional ballots to review to see if they can be processed and we still have outstanding military and overseas ballots that may be countable so until we have those numbers, that percentage is not set yet, but it was a very good election. It was very busy,” said Hayes.
In fact, Hayes says the interest in this particular election brought out voters early.
“I know from an early voting standpoint; we broke all of our records. It was an incredible turnout and that was phenomenal. We were comparing it at first to the 2020 (election) because we had three weeks of early voting which we knew it wasn’t the same thing at all but the numbers – Woo! the voters were coming out to vote and we loved that,” said Hayes.
Although they stayed behind tying up some loose ends, Hayes says all 38 boxes were accounted for by 10:30 p.m. She says much of that success on election night is attributed to both the voters and the poll workers who always kept things under control.
“They were overall very patient with the lines, with our technological challenges that we experienced from time to time – you know for us. It just wasn’t the challenge of a presidential election which is always an opportunity for growth for all of us, but we changed into voter registration systems and poll book systems right before the election which is not ideal, and we understood that going into it but it seemed like the best choice, so we had a learning curve. Our poll workers had a learning curve. They were phenomenal. The poll books worked great, and the poll workers were amazing. But overall, I would say it was a success,” said Hayes.
Not only was this a popular election, but it was also a bigger one for the elections staff – a staff that Hayes says deserves all the credit for putting in the hours over the last several weeks.
“So, there were 11 local elections tied in with this presidential election. So, it just wasn’t the presidential election. We had 73 different ballot styles and so, there’s a lot of reporting – all of those pieces that increase the complexity of the election and it was a lot. My staff did amazing. I’m so proud of the team and their determination and commitment to getting the job done even with the long hours. It’s very impressive to me,” said Hayes.
Hayes says once every ballot is accounted for, the final (unofficial) results will be posted on the elections office website. The official wrap-up of the Nov. 5 Election, however, won’t be until December, as Hayes confirms a runoff election in the city of Cibolo.