More than half of requested Dallas County mail-in ballots haven't been sent out, officials say

There is more concerning news regarding the upcoming election and mail-in ballots in Dallas County.

It was revealed in Dallas County Commissioner's Court on Tuesday that as of the last update, more than half of the mail-in ballots requested have not yet been mailed to voters.

Out of 120,000 mail-in ballot applications received, only 54,000 ballots have been mailed to voters. The election administrator's explanation raised another concern. The county is working to sort out which applications are duplicates.

From issues with the post office returning some mail-in ballots to voters to record numbers of mail-in ballot requests to new elections equipment, some Dallas County commissioners are already bracing for issues.

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“Yes, this election will be a challenge. Yes, it will have problems,” said Commissioner Dr. Elba Garcia. “It will require we all work together, not attack each other.”

Commissioner JJ Koch asked elections administrators why more than half of the mail-in ballots requested still haven't been sent out.

(Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole then added the county won't need to send out all 66,000 ballots.

“That number of applications is what came in the mail, not what is processed,” she said. “Over 15,000 of those applications were duplicates.”

Commissioner Koch says he believes the elections department needs more manpower fast.

“I think we need more minds and eyes making sure we can do this,” he said.

FOX 4 reached out to multiple administrators in both the elections office and the county to get an explanation about what the process is to filter out duplicate ballot requests. We have not yet received a response to our questions.

A spokesman for the state elections office says it is not illegal for a voter to request more than one ballot, but they will only be sent a single ballot.