10/28/2026
LET'S TALK ABOUT ELECTION INTEGRITY & TRANSPARENCY.
•With everything circulating in the media and on social media, along with the phone calls our office has received, I feel it's necessary to clarify a few things that seem to be getting lost in all the headlines.
•Voter participation and election results are two entirely different things.
Texas does not require voters to register by political party, nor do voters select a party ballot in a November General Election. While voter participation records are maintained, those records do not reveal how anyone voted.
•Texas Election Code §§ 87.0241 and 68.034 address the counting and reporting of early voting results. Official early voting results are not released before 7:00 PM on Election Day, November 3rd.
•That means any graphics, headlines, or reports suggesting one party has already received more actual votes than another is NOT reporting official election results. Those numbers may be based on estimates, historical voting data, or assumptions, but they are not actual candidate vote totals.
•Your ballot is secret. Your vote is private. And who you choose to vote for is nobody's business but your own.
•The secrecy of your ballot is protected under Article VI, Section 4 of the Texas Constitution, and Texas election law further protects that right.
•Voting is a fundamental right. It is not up to the media, political parties, or anyone else to decide what someone's vote represents based on assumptions, past voting history, or statistics.
A vote is a vote. It belongs to the voter. Not a political party, not a headline, and certainly not someone's prediction.
•As your County Clerk, I take the responsibility of conducting elections extremely seriously. There is an enormous amount of preparation, security, and accountability behind every election, much of which the public never sees.
•Integrity and transparency are not simply words to me. They are principles I stand behind, responsibilities I carry, and standards I refuse to compromise.
•I welcome questions, and I believe the public deserves factual answers and confidence in the election process. But transparency does not mean providing information that cannot yet be reported, and it certainly does not mean treating speculation as fact.
•My responsibility is not to predict an outcome, favor a political party, or entertain speculation. My responsibility is to protect every eligible vote, ensure it is accurately counted, and report the results according to the law.
•I don't care which political party you support or which candidates you choose. Every eligible voter deserves the same respect, the same protection, and the same confidence that their vote matters. Period.
•So before accepting another headline or graphic as fact, remember:
Turnout is not a vote count. Predictions are not results. And speculation is not transparency.
•The voters will determine the outcome. Not the media. Not political parties. Not election officials.
🗳️THE VOTERS. As it should be.
KeeLee Rawls, Floyd County Clerk
Protecting the Integrity of Our Elections.
Safe. Fair. Transparent.
