Gillespie County Republicans have decided against their initial plan to conduct a hand-count of all primary ballots for the 2026 elections due to a lack of volunteers, particularly for the early voting period. Last week, party officials opted to utilize the county’s voting machinery to tally the thousands of ballots expected to be cast during the two-week early voting window leading up to Election Day on March 3.
Despite this shift, the county’s Republican Party remains committed to hand-counting the ballots cast on Election Day, as confirmed by party officials. This decision reflects ongoing tensions within the party, with some members advocating for an elimination of electronic voting altogether, while others maintain confidence in the safety and integrity of the county’s voting systems. This ideological rift has been a point of contention since 2024, when the party first implemented a hand-counting process.
In the previous election cycle, Gillespie County Republicans dedicated nearly 24 hours on Election Day to manually count over 8,000 ballots, mobilizing more than 350 trained workers. However, discrepancies were discovered in the counts of 12 out of 13 precincts, yet no formal review of the hand-count results took place, as Texas law does not mandate post-election audits for hand-counted ballots. The financial burden of the hand-counting effort exceeded $40,000, starkly contrasting with the roughly $7,000 spent in 2020 when electronic voting machines were employed. Ultimately, these costs are reimbursed by the state.
Bruce Campbell, the chair of the county Republican Party, expressed concerns about the party’s recruitment efforts for Election Day hand-counting. He noted that he remains uninformed about the number of volunteers signed up to work, stating, “They think that I’m going to somehow talk [workers] out of hand-counting, which would not benefit me at all. I just want the votes counted.” The last update he received indicated that only around 60 people had signed up for a task that ideally requires about 200 volunteers.
Jim Riley, the county’s election administrator, refrained from commenting but previously communicated with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office about difficulties in recruiting and training hand counters, noting some precinct chairs had begun to object to the hand-counting process. He expressed concern that the local party’s issues could negatively impact the electoral process in Gillespie County.
In response to inquiries, the Secretary of State’s Office confirmed they had provided guidance to Riley but offered no additional comments. In 2024, state inspectors were sent to monitor the hand-counting process; however, no post-election audit was conducted due to the lack of legal requirements for such audits of hand-counted ballots. This year, one inspector will be present during part of the early voting period and two will observe on Election Day.
Texas law mandates a bipartisan post-election audit for machine-counted ballots within a random selection of precincts. Nonetheless, Gillespie Republicans have decided to further enhance their transparency by voluntarily hand-counting all ballots, regardless of whether they were initially counted by hand or machine. This approach necessitates recruiting many of the same volunteers again, and details on how this recount will be executed have yet to be disclosed.
Unlike the previous year, this year’s ballots have been designed for potential scanning by tabulators, allowing for verification of results without necessitating an entire repeat of the hand-count process. This change was made by Riley, who foresaw challenges with the hand-counting method.
Within the party’s internal discussions, Riley described a chaotic environment where leaders acknowledged existing problems but had differing opinions on the way forward, with some members absent from critical meetings. The recent decision to count early voting ballots electronically was made at a party executive committee meeting, where it passed with a vote of 7-3.
In September, Campbell reached out to the party’s precinct chairs, providing them with contact information for the 355 workers who had assisted with the 2024 hand-count. He noted that the recruitment efforts by precinct chairs began too late, resulting in a lack of enthusiasm among potential volunteers for this election cycle.
Campbell emphasized the importance of accountability, as Texas law requires that ballots be counted within 24 hours after polls close. Failure to report results to the state in this timeframe could expose party officials to misdemeanor charges or lawsuits from candidates disputing the outcomes.
However, not all party members share Campbell’s concerns. David Treibs, a Republican precinct chair and critic of electronic voting, opposed the decision to count ballots electronically, asserting that he has not encountered any candidates expressing worry about the hand-counting process. He downplayed the potential legal ramifications of not meeting the state-mandated deadline, stating, “Nobody’s gone to jail yet over this.”
Each of the county’s 13 precincts requires at least three election workers to manage polling locations and assist with voter check-ins, in addition to three more for hand-counting ballots. The larger precincts necessitate the formation of multiple teams for effective hand-counting.
Treibs indicated that while he is unsure of the current number of recruited workers, his precinct is fully staffed. He asserted that even if the expected number of volunteers is not met, they will still proceed with counting the ballots, albeit at a slower pace. “It’s not like they’re going to shred all the ballots if we’re not done on time. Of course not. That’s ridiculous,” he added. “The ballots will be counted, so that’s not the issue.”
