During its Oct. 25 meeting, the Hays County Commissioners Court responded to voter issues and discussed traffic complaints on FM 1826.
At the commissioner’s court hearing on Oct. 11, issues were brought up about the accuracy of the votes in the 2020 election. During public comments, David Boyd discussed what many are concerned about across the county.
“I’m disturbed by recent reports from individuals and citizens’ groups here in Hays County,” Boyd said. “I am concerned about the accuracy and validity of Hays County voting processes. The concerns revolve around incorrect voter registration totals.”
Judge Ruben Becerra validated the concerns and even discussed his own issue that he faced on election day in 2020.
“I watched the testing. I was there with those that spoke at the podium,” Becerra said. “I wasn’t a fan of the results where it’s supposed to be a transparent process and then let’s all leave the room and do something else.” 
In a written statement, Jennifer Doinoff, elections administrator and voter registrar for Hays County, responded to some of the issues previously discussed surrounding elections. One specific issue addressed was how there were about 459 voters registered in counties other than Hays county.
“This would be provisional voters who were registered in other counties,” Doinoff said. “Their votes were received but not accepted and counted.”
Becerra also discussed synchronizing the clocks on voting machines to ensure they do not close early and the intimidation that voters faced by poll watchers at certain locations. The commissioners court will work to address issues from voters in real-time at this year’s election.
Citizens of Hays County brought up concerns over the amount of traffic on FM 1826.
Glen Richter, a resident of FM 1826 for 22 years, discussed the seriousness of traffic on the road at public comment. 
“We have today about 30,000 cars that travel through intersection 1826,” Richter said. “It can be extremely slow if you’re coming from SW 45 but then there’s the other side of the coin which is the speeders, it involves not only the automobiles, it involves heavy materials trucks that travel at high speeds up and down the road.”
Madeleine Brock expressed concerns about the road in the context of the businesses that reside on it.
“I watched the road grow in terms of traffic from almost nothing to the problems we heard about today.” Brock said, “I look at all of the new businesses that try to come into the area and their customers can’t really get to them. 
Judge Becerra announced that he will visit the area of FM 1826 and review his findings to discuss solutions at a later date.
The Hays County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. on select Tuesdays each month. For more information, visit its website.