Report: 40% of top Texas election officials resign each presidential cycle

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — As election officials in Texas and nationwide face increased pressure and harassment, a new report shows a steady increase in the turnover rate of top administrators.

A Tuesday report from the Bipartisan Policy Center shows nationwide, turnover grew from 28% in 2004 to 39% in 2022. The report looked at turnover rate data from the years 2000 to 2024 amongst election officials, which it defines as a “change in a jurisdiction’s chief election administrator since the November general election held four years prior.”

In Texas, there was a spike in the number of election administrators quitting in the mid-2000s — the turnover rate in 2004 was 28% and rose to 44% in 2008. It dropped again to 30% in 2012 and rose to 40% in 2016 — a rate that has stayed relatively the same since.

Researchers cited threats to election officials as some of the main contributing factors for the increasing turnover.

Dana DeBeauvoir — who oversaw elections as Travis County Clerk for more than 30 years — said she has major concerns about these trends and the future of elections. DeBeauvoir retired in 2022.

“These administrators are doing a desperately needed job. We need competence and continuity in this work, we need to make sure that these folks are supported in their community,” she said. “These are your neighbors and friends who are actually doing this job…most elections administrators are appointed, which means they don’t have a lot of personal power to protect themselves.”

For solutions, the report recommends that state governments offer more pay for election workers and create succession plans to help pass down knowledge from years of experience.

This is a developing story, check back for updates. Capitol Correspondent Monica Madden will have a full report on KXAN at 6 p.m.