Fredericksburg, TX—As the 2024 presidential election approaches, hand-counting ballots is again a hotly debated subject. Media reports have cited experts and studies claiming that the old-school method is error-prone, expensive, laborious, and, in the words of a Rice University professor, “a recipe for disaster.”
Despite the controversies surrounding the method, people have been counting ballots by hand in the famous tourist city of Fredericksburg in Central Texas for many years.
The city and its county, Gillespie, unexpectedly came into the spotlight when the county’s Republicans decided to also hand-count ballots for the March primaries in 2024. The announcement suddenly drew immediate backlash and warnings from the media and critics.
Jeannette Hormuth, a longtime poll watcher and advocate for election transparency, first proposed hand-counting for the March primary elections to the county commissioners and precinct chairs last year.
“They ended up taking a vote, and lo and behold, they voted to hand count their primary. That’s kind of how it started,” said Hormuth.
Perfecting the Process
The Gillespie Republican Party then took almost six months to receive guidance from the city, host training sessions for volunteers, and develop their best tally method. The volunteers modified the publicly available Texas Election Code chapter 65, published in 1879, which details how to count ballots manually. Hormuth said:
“We kept tweaking, because we would find things that cause confusion or more errors or more time…Instead of numbers one through fifty, you actually mark the number for each of the votes for that candidate. And instead going through the ballot, we actually went race by race, which is different also. But what was unique about what we did is we added something called the echo.”
Some of the volunteers demonstrated the counting process to The Texas Insider. In a five-member team, three people have tally sheets, including an ‘echo’ and two ‘tally-ers.’ The ‘caller’ first says a candidate’s name, followed by the ‘echo’ reconfirming the name and number for each vote while marking on the tally sheet. After hearing the “echo” matching the “caller,” the two “tally-ers” mark on their tally sheets. The “watcher” stands and observes to ensure there are no mistakes.
Retired engineer Bruce Neitzke worked in the petroleum, environmental, and mechanical industries for many years. He and other team members called the method an “elegant solution,” a technical term for a simple and efficient approach to resolving a problem.
In an opinion piece on The Texas Scorecard, Gillespie County Republican Party chairman Bruce Campbell said more than 250 people showed up to help hand-count almost 8,000 paper ballots within 24 hours. Campbell later announced there were “addition and transcription errors,” which they quickly fixed, but the tally sheets were marked correctly.
“It was transparent. It’s verifiable. You go back at any point, you could retrace your steps, and it’s all in the open, I think it restores confidence in our elections,” said Hormuth.
Building and Involving the Community
The local volunteers who came out to speak with The Texas Insider come from widely divergent backgrounds. They reiterated their reasons for hand-counting ballots—and it wasn’t simply about challenging the 2020 elections or wanting their favorite candidates to win. According to the volunteers, election results don’t matter, but transparency and integrity do.
“This is not a Trump or Biden thing. This is not a Republican, Democrat, red or blue..This is about fair and honest elections, and feeling confident…Sometimes it’s not going to be my candidate. But if that was a fair and transparent election, that’s part of the American process,” said April Laird. She owns a real estate company in Central Texas and has garnered many locals to help hand count, which she called a “big show of community spirit.”
Since it’s legally required to pay volunteers, media reports have mentioned the high costs for the county and community when switching to hand counting.
Laird said, “We all thought we were volunteering for this, everyone was thrilled…Later on, we ended up getting paid, which a lot of us didn’t even want to be paid because it was part of the American experience just to participate in the electoral process.”
Hormuth argued that machines were also expensive because of licensing fees, system updates, and maintenance.
“Instead of spending money on computers, we spent it on people…Other people didn’t take the money – but those that did, it’s circulating in the community,” said Hormuth.
She explained that volunteers who accept the money would spend it on local businesses or donate to other causes.
Hormuth called the hand-counting efforts a “community builder.”
“They were working towards the same thing – it wasn’t only fun, it was worthwhile. You feel like you are coming together to really accomplish something
important,” said mom and homemaker Martha Fait.
Bruce Neitzke agrees, “It’s a team. So you have to learn how to work together as a team…it creates community.”
Tradition in the Human Element
Founded in 1846 by German settlers, Fredericksburg’s attraction lies in its rich immigrant history.
“We pass on traditions,” said Martha Fait about generations in her family preserving their American pride.
“What a privilege it is, to be living in such a wonderful country…because of our freedoms.” Fait believes in the importance of teaching children about voting rights and the history of ballot counting.
“I remember when I first voted, I was excited about it,” said Olson. “We had to be 21 at the time, now it’s 18…so there’s been an advantage to vote earlier, and you should be encouraged to do that. And you should be taught that as part of your heritage – being American.”
Living in a historic town might mean following an old-school way of life, which could include breaking away from technology. To the locals, counting ballots the human way is the only way.
“I think it should be human because it is for humans. It’s accurate, and there’s a way to check it whereas I think manipulation of the equipment is very, very easy. And I think if you want the truth, do it by hand,” said Samuel Olson.
After working as a civil engineer at a major government agency for 36 years, Olson didn’t hesitate to serve the public once again—this time as a hand-counting volunteer for the elections.
The fifth-generation Fredericksburg native believes in the human element, saying that men’s greatest accomplishments “were built before computers.” A local dentist of 33 years, Sandra Slater, also said she “would much rather trust a human being” than she would in a machine.
When Slader told her friends who had never registered to vote about hand-counting, they said they would now because they had “hope that there could be transparency and trust.” Martha Fait also shared that people in the community wanted to “get involved” with hand counts to ensure that “their votes matter.”
Further assessments might be needed to ensure that the Gillespie Republican Party will continue hand-counting ballots in future primaries and elections. The party’s chair, Bruce Campbell, and the volunteers stated that their hand-counting method for the primary was a success. They said they would train and help neighboring counties if needed.
Olsen compared the hand-counting efforts to a ‘proverbial mouse facing off the eagle,’ as the Gillespie County Republicans in Fredericksburg experienced mounting media scrutiny and public pressure.
The Texas Insider’s interviews with the participants uncovered another side to hand counts—a more authentic and human explanation for why people prefer the now-unconventional method. Sometimes, it’s just about integrity, community, and holding onto mankind’s traditional ways of life.
Larrison Manygoats and Marina Fatina contributed to this report.
