HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — For the last 10 years, Kay and James Smith have cast their votes by mail, ensuring their voices are heard.
“Oh, it's very important. I've been voting since I was 18 ... (a) long time ago,” Kay Smith said.
They’ve never had any issues until now.
“Submitted a request for mail-in ballot at the beginning of this year. We've gotten every mail ballot except this one,” Kay said.
The couple said their ballots were mailed to them on Sept. 26.
“We got a little nervous when we didn't get it and our first response from Harrisvotes.com is that it would take 10 business days for us to get that mail-in ballot,” Kay said.
Kay said they’ve always received their ballots within a week of them being mailed. Growing concern led them to reach out and ask where their ballots could be.
“Saying that it's not their problem and it's a USPS problem and there's no tracking of mail,” James Smith said. “There's no proof that it was actually picked up by anybody. There's no proof that it went through a distribution facility. There's nothing.”
The Smiths said they were told to apply for replacement ballots.
“They informed us that we could apply for a replacement ballot, but that would have to be mailed in and then mailed back to us,” Kay said.
According to the Harris County Clerk’s Office, voters have until Oct. 25 to request a replacement. You can call 713-755-6965 or email vbm@harrisvotes.com for help.
The Smiths said they're worried about another potential delay.
“Our plan now is will most likely go to a ballot location and cast a provisional ballot,” Kay said.
Friday evening, as mail was delivered along their street, their ballots were still not there.
When KHOU reached out to the Harris County Clerk’s office about replacement ballots, they stated they had no control over USPS delivery times. KHOU reached out to USPS and is waiting to hear back.