CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Election clerks locally and across the state keep meticulous records of the number of mail-n ballots printed, requested, sent and received. So when there's an issue with even just a handful of ballots -- they know about it.
Nueces County Elections Clerk Kara Sands said her office has been notified that 10 people in the Nueces County have not received their mail-in ballots, and they may be lost in the mail.
"That's why we're working with the post office to find out, well, what happened to these?" Sands said.
While officials continue their search for answers about where those ballots went, Sands said there's another issue she's been dealing with -- this time a preventable issue. As accusations of mail-in ballot fraud are inserted into the national conversation, more people are choosing to forego mailing in their ballots in favor of voting in person.
"If you do receive a ballot by mail -- and again, we only send them to people who have requested one -- so at some point you did request a mail-in ballot, and if you want to vote in person you can," Sands said.
To do so, those who have been issued mail-in ballots have one of three options.
The first option is to take your completed ballot to the Nueces County Courthouse in person at any time through election day, show an ID and sign the register that you voted.
The second option is to take your unused ballot to any voting center during early voting, show your ID, turn the mail-in ballot in so it is not counted, and then vote in person.
The final option is to go to the Nueces County Courthouse, tell them that you do not have the ballot any longer, show your ID, fill out a form to cancel the ballot, and then go vote in person.