REGISTRATIONS UP; ALL WE NEED NOW IS TO RAISE VOTING %

By Remi Garza

Cameron County Elections Dept.

As we close out the year 2020, I am pleased to let you know that as of today, Cameron County has  221,505 registered voters. 

This surpasses our goal to have 220,000 registrants in the year 2020. These past two years, we have worked to raise our number from 2018, when we had 203,616. While our community has seen a great deal of changes, as is reflected in updated voter registrations and cancellations, we were able to add 13,956 in 2019 and 17,547 new registrants to our voter rolls in 2020. 

Our office strives to make sure that all the residents of Cameron County who are qualified to vote can do so when they are ready to vote. It all starts with up-to-date registrations. Another benefit of these efforts is that it allows us to draw down more state resources to extend our work into the community.

The Elections Office partnered with 523 Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDR’s), exceeding our goal of 500 VDR’s for the two year appointment cycle of 2018 to 2020. Each volunteer had to be trained by our Outreach Staff and we are grateful for their efforts as well. 

They along with our staff coordinated with local school districts and community organizations to hold voter registration drives. We could not have achieved our goal this year without their contributions.

 Each of these VDR’s will be have to be reappointed in the coming two years, which will require training and certification by our office. Efforts are already underway to schedule these trainings.

I want to mention the efforts of the entire voter registration staff and outreach team. Over these past two years they assisted our voters to update their records, created new records in our registration system and secured the registration forms, electronically and in our warehouse. They have done an extraordinary amount of work during this difficult year and have helped maintain our voter rolls.

I would also like to thank the Election Commission for their support and guidance. This is especially true of the Commissions Court. The Elections Office could not have achieved its goals without the resources they have provided. The same goes to all the county departments who have lent their support in helping this office achieve its goals. 

We especially want to mention the Building Maintenance Department, the Commissioners’ Offices, the County Administrator’s Office, the County Judge’s Office, the Auditor’s Office, The County and District Clerks’ Offices, the County Constables, Human Resources, Emergency Management, the Public Works Department, Vehicle Maintenance, Courthouse Security, the District Attorney’s Office and the Commissioners’ Court Legal Counsel. 

I would also like to thank the hundreds of volunteers who worked the polls that made the election of November 2020 so remarkable. Without everyone’s help, we could not have been administered the largest election in Cameron County’s history, in one of the most difficult years we have every faced.

We look forward to 2021 and are excited about the projects we have planned and look forward to your continued support.