GRAPEVINE, Texas — Out of 18 million registered voters, a record 2.8 million voters have cast their ballots in the first four days of early voting in Texas, including mail-in voters.
That's 15% of registered voters who have already voted.
"There are more people that have early voted either in person or by mail than we've ever had in the history of our state and it's exciting," said Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson.
Nelson sat down with WFAA Anchor Cynthia Izaguirre for a rare one-on-one interview during one of the most difficult seasons of her job as Texas Secretary of State. Her office is tasked with having as few roadblocks as possible during election season, which is why she is hyper-focused on safety.
"Threatening violence is against the law and our elections administrators we have unfortunately had to train them with how to deal with angry people," she said.
Secretary Nelson has a firm warning for anyone who takes out their anger on election workers or anyone else.
"Law enforcement will step in."
With growing concern about election violence in some states, WFAA asked Secretary Nelson whether there have been any reports of violence at polling locations in Texas.
"I'd rather not even answer yet. I'm always concerned and again, I will protect the people who are doing this very important work. It is against the law to threaten someone," she reiterated.
Watch Cynthia Izaguiree's full interview with Secretary Jane Nelson below:
Another challenge at the polls is disinformation, especially when it's spread rapidly on social media.
"What is damaging is that sometimes when these rumors get out there and get amplified it could discourage somebody from voting and thinking their vote doesn't count."
On the first day of early voting in Tarrant County, a voter in White Settlement made a mistake on his ballot that was rectified. How it was portrayed on social media for millions of people to see was that the machine purposefully switched his vote.
"Rumors catch fire. That is a perfect example of what actually happened and what was rumored and then amplified as truth and it's very difficult to counter that with the actual fact. Thank you to WFAA for making sure people understood what was really going on there," she said.
Secretary Nelson urges anyone who fears improprieties at the polls to report it.
"With 18 million people hopefully casting their vote, there's going to be a glitch somewhere. They may be rightfully concerned; we will address it."
And with less than two weeks before Election Day, Secretary Nelson at the request of Attorney General Ken Paxton is addressing what she calls the federal government's failure to hand over data Texas could use to cross-check its voter roles on non-citizens.
"I don't want anyone who is qualified to vote to be denied that vote. That would be terrible. I also want to make sure that someone who is not a citizen is trying to vote. Which is against the law by the way."
Secretary Nelson admitted that we're talking about a small number of people potentially doing this in Texas, but she and Paxton filed suit this week. Given the timing of the filing so close to Nov. 5, WFAA asked Nelson whether this lawsuit itself had the potential to create misinformation.
"We haven't waited. We waited to sue because we thought that we would be able to get this information without unfortunately much cooperation," she said.
When asked why they didn't file the suit a year ago, Nelson responded, "Because we thought we would get better cooperation."
In July 2023, Texas started the withdrawal process from the Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as ERIC, a program 27 states used to catch repeat voters and keep voter rolls accurate.
Secretary Nelson told WFAA that a replacement will arrive before the end of this year and that the state's election won’t be less secure in the absence of ERIC.
As Election Day nears, Nelson said she wants to reassure voters about Texas' reputation for providing secure elections.
"We work so hard to make sure we maintain the integrity of the election process. To make sure that every vote counts. That we're counting every vote."
On November 5, Secretary Nelson asked all Texas residents to be civil to one another and to know that their vote is protected.
"This upcoming election will be the most secure election Texas has ever had."