Update 4:15 p.m.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the last thing she expected when arriving at the polls this morning was to have trouble voting. After heading into Love Park Community Center, she was told by those working that she had already cast her ballot during the early voting period.
According to Ogg, after roughly 30 minutes, she asked those with Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth’s office to call Hudspeth. She added that nothing sounded correct and questioned who could’ve voted on her behalf.
Ogg was notified by Hudspeth that Ogg’s partner, Olivia Jordan, a fellow attorney, had cast a ballot in the district attorney’s name and that this vote would be “transferred,” and Ogg would be requalified to vote in her own name.
“I’m really concerned that this could affect other people. I don’t know that,” Ogg said. “But then I was very surprised to see that the clerk (Hudspeth) blamed it on user error. The whole purpose of having an election clerk and election judge is to prevent exactly this type of situation where somebody votes under one ID, but that’s not the right person.”
Ogg added that she figured that how the incident happened, how the elections department could be tracking it, and whether or not others have been affected would be investigated — but these questions remained unanswered for now.
“There is no voter error in elections. That’s the purpose of election judges and clerks in the voting polls. It’s to prevent fraud and ensure authenticity of the voter to their ID and their voter number.”
The district attorney noted that Jordan took her passport and her voter registration with her to vote.
Update 12:45 p.m.
During a press conference this morning, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth addressed the incident involving District Attorney Kim Ogg’s partner voting in Ogg’s name.
Hudspeth said it could be a common occurrence, especially if you have a spouse, partner or family member who lives at the same address as Ogg and her partner does. Hudspeth said the situation could have occurred because of the election worker or the voter — Ogg’s partner.
In an updated statement, Hudspeth indicated that the poll book had been corrected to allow Ogg to vote and clarified that her partner’s vote would not be transferred to the district attorney.
Hudspeth added that Ogg had voted successfully.
Update: 10:10 a.m.
As it turns out, it appears the culprit who voted in Kim Ogg’s name was her partner who lives with her.
According to a post from Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, “Last Friday, DA Ogg’s partner, who is registered to vote at the same address as DA Ogg, voted in the primary elections under DA Ogg’s name.”
“In the process of qualifying a voter, each voter is asked to review and confirm the information that appears on the iPad screen, including the voter’s name. If the information that appears on the screen is not accurate, the voter must notify the election clerk. In this instance, the DA’s partner must not have noticed that the information was not hers, and proceeded to sign in and vote under DA Ogg’s name. We believe this is the case because DA Ogg’s partner signed her own name as confirmation.”
Original story:
When Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg arrived inside the community center to vote today, she was told that someone had already voted in her name.
This occurred at her usual voting spot: Love Park Community Center.
The incumbent, who is vying for her third term in office against challenger and former Harris County prosecutor Sean Teare, was accompanied by her son.
“She was a little shocked to learn that she had voted early, according to the Election Judge,” said Michael Kolenc, a spokesman for the district attorney. “She is still there trying to figure out the issue.”
Kolenc said there is no resolution as of early this morning, but Ogg will likely have to vote by provisional ballot.
“I’m worried that this is stuff that’s out of our hands at this point,” he said. “It’s not like she (Ogg) can say no, ‘I will vote’. They are probably going to make her vote provisionally. She’s trying to avoid that if she can.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
