DALLAS — As voters count down the days to the general election, it is an exciting time for many first-time voters.
Katie Brodsky, turned 18 years old in June. Her mom says the teen is eager about voting and applied for an absentee ballot before heading off to school at Syracuse University.
However, there’s a problem.
Brodsky, like many voters across North Texas who have requested absentee or mail-in ballots, has yet to receive the forms. Calls to the Dallas County elections office to get answers aren’t helping, according to her mom Lael Brodsky.
"I’ve called from my cellphone. I’ve called from my landline, and I can’t get through,” said Lael Brodsky.
Lael Brodsky said she is working with her daughter to find answers. They want to know if the mail-in ballot can be tracked, and if the ballot has already been issued.
The same questions were echoed by several North Texas voters when calling into WFAA-TV’s phone bank on Monday.
"We have been receiving over 1,000 applications daily,” said Dallas County Election Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole.
Pippins-Poole spoke about the challenges and concerns while hosting a mail ballot drop-off event on Monday.
"Well, we are still mailing out ballots. We just want you to hold on. We’ve gotten more ballots, more requests than we’ve ever had,” said Pippins-Poole.
The Dallas County elections administrator is urging voters who may be waiting on mail ballots to be patient.
"That’s what all the elections administrators want you to know, is to be patient. It’s coming,” added Pippins-Poole.
Patience could be a problem, for some people. As early voting approaches, the pandemic and postal service continue to be concerns for many voters, especially for students away at college determined to cast ballots.
“She has to get it. She has to sign it,” Lael Brodsky said. “Time is ticking.”