In a recent development prompted by the Travis County Republican Party, early voting ballots will now be counted on Election Day rather than the Saturday following the conclusion of early voting. This change aims to streamline the election process, but it also raises concerns about potential delays in ballot counting.
As mail-in ballots flood into the Travis County Clerk’s Office, officials are tasked with sorting and tallying the votes. While many ballots represent legitimate candidates, a significant number feature whimsical write-ins such as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, or even more explicit phrases. Each vote is taken seriously, as emphasized by Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon-Mercado.
“It just doesn’t get dumped in a bin and we forget about it,” Limon-Mercado assured. “A human — actually two humans — one from the Democratic Party and one from the Republican Party — will review the ballot images to interpret the voter’s intent.”
When a voter writes in “Mickey Mouse” while failing to select a legitimate candidate, this is categorized as an “undervote,” indicating no selection was made for that race. The process becomes more complicated when a real candidate is chosen alongside a fictional one, requiring consensus from representatives of both parties regarding the voter’s intent.
Limon-Mercado noted that these ballots frequently present the most significant challenges for the clerk’s office, significantly slowing down the ballot counting process. During local elections, counting early votes typically takes around six hours. However, during elections with state and national races, the timeline can extend dramatically. In 2024, for instance, it took Travis County election workers three days to count early voting ballots due to the high volume of write-in votes.
This year, the influx of write-in votes, including those for Mickey Mouse, is expected to further complicate matters for election staff. With Election Day approaching on Tuesday, Limon-Mercado expressed hope that the initial results would be available by approximately 7 p.m., although the new counting schedule could lead to delays.
Travis County GOP Chair Jennifer Fleck explained that the party requested this adjustment in preparation for a new state law set to take effect in 2027, which will eliminate the three-day gap between early voting and Election Day. “Why not start now as a test run?” Fleck suggested, noting that primary elections typically see lower turnout compared to general elections, making this an ideal time for the trial.
Fleck added that the new law and the changes in counting procedures aim to prevent any risk of early exposure of election results from early voting.
While Limon-Mercado acknowledged that reducing the gap might benefit voters, she cautioned that it would also impose significant pressure on election staff. However, she emphasized a crucial way voters can assist: “If that could be its own campaign, if people could just stop writing in Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and other humorous options as a form of protest. They end up protesting us, and I don’t think they mean to protest us.”
