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SOS 101: Casting & Counting Your Ballot

October 24, 2022
Contact: Sam Taylor
512-463-6116

FORT WORTH — On the first day of Early Voting for the November 2022 General Election, Texas Secretary of State John Scott released the fourth and final episode of 'SOS 101,' a series of educational videos to inform Texas voters about the election process in Texas. In the new video, Secretary Scott gives an overview of how ballots are cast and counted in Texas elections, what voters should expect when they go to the polls, how results are reported, and the protocols and procedures in place to protect the security, integrity and accuracy of elections in Texas. Secretary Scott also speaks with Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia, who provides a step-by-step explanation of what happens from the time a Texas voter arrives at a polling place to when the polls close at 7:00 p.m. local time on Election Night.

To watch the full SOS 101 video on casting and counting your ballot in Texas, click here or on the image below.

"I'm here in Tarrant County, where I live, where I'm registered, and where I vote," Secretary Scott says in the video, offering the following key guidance for all Texas voters:

"So please, wait until you're back outside the polling place to take your selfie. Trust me - it can wait!"

In the video, Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia walks voters through the entire process of checking in at the polling location, receiving your blank ballot paper, making your selections on the voting machine, printing the voted ballot and casting it on an electronic ballot tabulator.

"None of the machines that touch your ballot, or that count it, are connected to the internet," Garcia says in the video.

"The pollbook is connected to the internet - so that you don't vote in two places, they have to talk to each other. But the paper process that we've followed is completely disconnected from the internet."

"I hope that you feel confident that you're ready to make your voice heard at the ballot box. Remember that your vote is secure, and that every vote matters here in the Lone Star State," Secretary Scott concludes.

Learn more about in-person voting in Texas.

Click here to learn how to find your polling location.

SOS 101 Video Series

Watch the full SOS 101 video series, or individual episodes below:

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