How election officials are keeping your absentee ballots secure in El Paso and Doña Ana counties

EL PASO, Texas -- Election officials in El Paso and Doña Ana County have been receiving absentee ballots for quite some time and have already begun to open them up.

Elections officials in both counties say they have measures in place to keep the ballots secure.

In El Paso, both Early Voting and Signature Verification boards met for the first time this week. Lisa Wise, El Paso County election administrator, tells ABC-7 ballots won't be processed until Oct. 31.

Wise said the ballots are places in sealed transfer cases and boxes, "locked in a cage and then put in a vault in we’re able to start processing.” 

In Doña Ana County, the same process has already begun. Ballots are already allowed to be processes however, they won't begin to do so until next Thursday at their election central warehouse facility.

“The facility is secured overnight, locked up" said Lindsey Bachman, chief deputy officer for Doña Ana County. "It's got 24/7 video surveillance inside, outside of the location.” The warehouse also has a security alarm, according to Bachman.

Both counties say the process on securing the ballots won't necessarily be a challenge, the volume of ballots will the be challenge.

The earlier elections have the ballots back, the better.

“What's really exciting about this election is that more and more people are voting early that helps us out a lot," Bachman said.

"It helps us work with the bulk of the ballots sooner.” 

For voter information for Texas, click here. For information on New Mexico, click here.