The number of rejected mail ballots in Texas soared to nearly 13% across most counties in the nation's first election of 2022
FILE - In this May 6, 2021, file photo, a group opposing new voter legislation gather outside the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas. Texas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nation's first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules that are part of a broad campaign by Republicans to reshape American elections, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.
The unusually high rejection rate to start America's midterm election season is expected to put more attention on changes to the ballot box elsewhere in the country. Texas' election was the debut of more restrictive voting rules the GOP raced to put on the books across the U.S. in time for the midterm elections, a push that took particular aim at mail voting that soared in popularity during the pandemic.
In the five counties won by Trump that had the most mail-in primary voters, a combined 2,006 mailed ballots were rejected, a rate of 10% of the total. In the counties won by Biden with the most mail-in voters, which include most of Texas’ biggest cities, a combined 14,020 votes were similarly rejected, which amounted to 15.7%.
Federal data on discarded mail ballots in general elections show few instances of double-digit rejection rates. The outliers include Indiana in 2006, Oregon in 2010 and New York in 2018, according to records from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
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