County clerk proposes election administration office

County Clerk Amy Varnell is asking the Cass County Commissioners’ Court to create the position of Elections Administrator (EA). The new position and office would assume the duties of voter registration and election administration for the county.

Currently, the County Clerk’s office administers elections and the County Tax Assessor-Collector is the Voter Registrar.

In a letter dated Apr. 17, 2020, Varnell asks the Court to create the position of Elections Administrator. Varnell said, “I believe the county would be better served by an Elections Administrator so that elections and voter registration are operated by one office.”

“The County Clerk’s office begins preparing for an election long before Election Day, and an election is not over when we leave the voting building on election night”, Varnell wrote, “I have two deputy clerks who work solely on elections during that time.”

Varnell describes how elections are administered, its toll on her office and recommends the Court consider her chief deputy for the position. She offered more detail last Thursday in an email to the Journal-Sun.

“The person must be bonded, just as an elected official is bonded. I recommended my Chief Deputy/Chief Elections Deputy be appointed to the position, as she has worked with elections for 19 years. The salary she currently receives would be used to help fund the EA salary, and I would not replace the position in my office. That will be left vacant. There is already an elections budget so those funds would move from the County Clerk’s department to the EA’s department”, she wrote.

Of the 254 counties in Texas, 119 counties have an Elections Administrator, including Bowie, Harrison, Titus and Upshur. Section 31.031 of the Texas Election Code allows the Commissioners’ Court to create the position.

According to Varnell, the EA would be accountable to the public, Commissioners’ Court and the County Elections Commission which includes the County Judge, County Clerk, Tax Assessor-Collector and the Republican and Democratic party chairpersons.

“Whether a county has a county clerk or an EA, the votes cast in a general election are canvassed (certified) by the Commissioners’ Court, and votes cast in a primary election are certified by the political party chairmen. The most important reason I believe that an EA position should be created is this: elections should be administered by someone other than an elected official.”

Tax Assessor-Collector Angela Young said the creation of the EA position would help her office “tremendously”. Young has been unable to attend Secretary of State conferences as they coincide with tax time—when entities submit their tax rates to her office.

“It’s a 24/7 job in my office. Having an EA would really help us out”, Young said.

Cities and school boards within Cass County have had the option to contract with the county to administer its elections. Atlanta’s city secretary, Danica Porter, said the city currently contracts with the county to administer its elections in odd-numbered years, only. Porter explained that the county is too busy in even-numbered years with their own election administration.

“It would save the City of Atlanta a lot of money if the county could do our elections every year”, Porter said.

In addition to saving money, Mayor Travis Ransom said that a uniform election cycle--moving the city’s elections from May to November, would encourage greater voter turnout for city initiatives.

Chris Mack, Cass County’s Democratic Party chairperson, supports Varnell’s proposal of an Elections office and administrator and said that a “neutral person” should administer elections.

“One hundred nineteen counties have an election administrator and it should be done that way”, Mack said.

“Elections require a lot of work and put a strain on the Clerk’s office”, Republican Party Chairperson Eileen Collins wrote in an email, “I have not witnessed anything that made me think the clerk’s office was anything but fair to both parties.”

Collins cited budgeting concerns and an incident in Navarro County involving an Election Administrator as reasons for not backing the measure.

“There was a case a few years ago where the Election Administrator in another county actually had to resign due to the fact that early voting machines were used for both early voting and Election Day and early votes were counted twice”, Collins wrote, “Another consideration is the fact that Cass County is not a rich county. I don’t know how the county plans to budget for the position. This is a big decision for our county, and it will still take a team effort for election management.

Varnell responded to Collins’ comments by telephone.

“Yes, that [Navarro County] happened a few years ago but that is not a reflection of the position, it’s a reflection of the person holding that position”, Varnell said, “I explained to Eileen and others in June how we’re budgeting for this.”

According to Varnell, she is still working out the details of the position, and that the Commissioners’ Court will decide the matter in September.