On the first day of early voting, East Central Independent School District reported ballot discrepancies involving a tax proposition that would give the district more money from taxpayers.
In a mass email to the press on Monday afternoon, district officials said some East Central voters reported not seeing the measure, titled Proposition A, on their ballot, instead seeing an item from a different school district.
Bexar County spokesperson John Moreno confirmed the discrepancy and said it’s related to the Texas Election Administration Management system, the state’s central platform to manage voter registrations and elections.
The TEAM system caused a massive registration backlog last year that left voters without a new voter registration card before the March primary. Bexar County plans to part ways with the system in January.
“I can confirm this has been resolved for Bexar County and affected less than 1% of our eligible voters,” Moreno said.
County officials say the problem did not affect mail-in ballots. For voters who have already cast their votes today, the ballots will be accepted as they are, and voters cannot receive replacement ballots if they have already cast their vote.
East Central ISD’s Prop A would only appear on the ballot of voters registered inside the district’s boundaries, and this type of measure would appear near the bottom of the ballot, which is already packed with a buzzy Senate and gubernatorial race, statewide elections, county races and more.
East Central ISD specifically highlighted discrepancies in voting precincts 4071, 4087, and 4151, which are near the towns of Schertz and St. Hedwig. Voters in Bexar County can vote at any polling location and find all their applicable races on their ballot.
The district is advising voters who have already cast their ballots and believe Proposition A was incorrectly omitted to contact the Texas Secretary of State at 1-800-252-8683 or elections@sos.texas.gov.
All residents within East Central ISD boundaries may also file a complaint with the Texas Secretary of State, regardless of whether they have already voted.
The state agency did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.
East Central ISD is one of a handful of area-school districts seeking extra funding through propositions during the November midterm elections.
Proposition A asks voters to weigh in on what’s known as a voter approval tax rate election, or VATRE. The proposal would add 3.72 cents to the maintenance and operations tax rate, which could unlock an extra $8.47 million a year that ECISD plans to use on staff and student programs.
Read our education voter guide to learn more
Before deciding to put the measure in front of voters, the district decreased its interest and sinking rate by 3.71 cents. If voters approved the changes in November, their overall rates would go up by a fraction of a penny, resulting in a less than $1 increase a year for the district’s average homeowner.
If voters pass Prop A, district officials say the extra money would help the district keep up with inflation, maintain a performance-based compensation plan, hire armed security officers and maintain or even reduce class sizes by hiring more teachers.
If the VATRE passes this year, the district’s total tax rate would go from 0.9319 to 0.9320 per $100 of taxable value, adding up to less than a dollar increase a year for the average homeowner.
Early voting goes Oct. 19 through Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3. To find a copy of your sample ballot, go here.
