Jim Wells County Election Documents Guide: Ballots, Results, and Official Reports

The Jim Wells County Elections office at jimwellscountyelections.gov is the single authoritative source for every official election document the county produces — from the first sample ballot posted before early voting through the final certified canvass PDFs filed after results are confirmed. Whether you're a voter in Alice checking who's on your ballot, a candidate in Premont tracking precinct-level returns, or a reporter verifying vote totals against certified tabulations, knowing which document to request and where it lives saves hours of frustration.

Jim Wells County, with a population of 38,891 according to the 2020 census, is anchored by its county seat of Alice. The county is also known historically as the home of the "Box 13 scandal," the infamous ballot box at the center of Lyndon Baines Johnson's narrow 1948 Democratic primary victory. That history makes transparent, publicly accessible election records not just a procedural formality here — it is a civic expectation.

Sample Ballots: Your First Stop Before Every Election

The official sample ballot is the foundational document for any election cycle. It shows every race, every candidate name as it will appear on the actual ballot, and every proposition — by precinct and party where applicable. The Jim Wells County Elections office publishes official sample ballots ahead of each election at jimwellscountyelections.gov. You can also contact the office directly by phone at (361) 668-5711 to request a copy or confirm which ballot style applies to your address.

You can also contact your state or local election administrator for an official sample ballot. For Jim Wells County voters whose addresses fall in communities like Sandia, Orange Grove, or San Diego, confirming the correct ballot style directly with the elections office is especially important, since ballot content can vary by precinct and jurisdiction.

Election Notices: The Official Starting Gun

Before any election takes place, state law requires the county to publish formal election notices. These documents establish the official date, hours, and locations of voting. Polling locations in Jim Wells County include the JWC Premont Annex II at 248 SW 1st St in Premont, the JWC San Diego Annex at 503 S Ventura St in San Diego, and the Orange Grove ISD Special Programs Building at 106 Bulldog Lane in Orange Grove, among others in Alice. Election notices are posted at jimwellscountyelections.gov and on the county commissioners court bulletin board, and they serve as the official public record that an election has been called and scheduled.

Logic-and-Accuracy Test Reports: The Pre-Election Integrity Check

Before any ballot is cast, Texas law mandates that the county's voting equipment undergo a public Logic and Accuracy (L&A) test. Not later than 48 hours before voting begins on a voting system, the general custodian of election records must conduct a logic and accuracy test, and public notice must be published on the county's website at least 48 hours before the test begins — and the test must be open to the public.

The county testing board, which includes representatives of political parties and members of the public, must agree on a test deck of ballots for which the results are already verified through a hand count. The ballots included in the test deck must include votes for each candidate and proposition on the ballot, including overvotes, undervotes, write-in votes, and provisional votes. The testing board votes those ballots on the electronic voting machines, and the board then meets to verify that the results from the hand count and machine count are identical.

Voting machines can only be deployed in a Texas election after the test shows 100% accuracy. The signed certification form from the L&A test is a public record. Reporters and candidates can request this document from the Jim Wells County Elections office; it certifies that every ballot style, every contest position, and every device type used in the election was successfully tested before voters arrived.

Election Night and Cumulative Tabulations

On election night, the county's central counting station begins releasing running vote totals as precincts report in. These unofficial cumulative results show vote counts aggregated across all reporting precincts. Once all votes are counted on election night, each county must complete and publicly post a Preliminary Election Reconciliation for Unofficial Totals that shows how many ballots were cast, how many people signed in at the polling place, and how many mail-in ballots are accepted or pending.

Precinct-level tabulations break those totals down race by race and precinct by precinct, allowing candidates and their supporters to pinpoint exactly how individual communities voted. These documents are distinct from the single-page summary totals: a precinct-level tabulation for a Jim Wells County commissioners race, for instance, will show separate vote counts for Alice precincts, the Premont area, Sandia, Orange Grove, and San Diego. Both cumulative and precinct-level reports are posted to the county elections website and can be requested directly from the elections office.

The Final Canvass: The Legally Binding Record

The most consequential document in any election cycle is the official final canvass. This is the certified, legally binding tabulation produced after the canvassing authority, in Jim Wells County's case the commissioners court, has reviewed all returns including mail-in ballots and provisional ballots and declared the official outcome.

Within 72 hours of the polls closing on election day, each election office must conduct a partial manual count to ensure votes were tabulated accurately, using votes from 1% of precincts or 3 precincts, whichever is greater. Only after that audit and the full review of outstanding ballots does the canvass close. Once the county has completed its official canvass of votes, county election officials must complete and publicly post their final Election Reconciliation for Official Totals.

The final canvass PDF is the document of record for certifying winners, triggering runoff thresholds, and establishing the baseline for any recount petition. It is archived by the Jim Wells County Elections office and remains a permanent public record. Candidates who receive a nomination or election, as well as any candidate who narrowly misses a runoff threshold, should obtain and preserve a copy.

Absentee and Mail-in Ballot Records

Absentee ballot records are a separate document category tracked throughout the election cycle. An absentee ballot application can be downloaded from the county elections website, or voters may call the office to request one at 361-668-5711. The status of mail-in ballots — received, accepted, rejected, or cured — is reflected in the preliminary reconciliation posted on election night and updated in the final canvass.

All Jim Wells County polling locations also offer curbside voting, and the office provides wheelchair-accessible voting machines as well as features to assist voters who are hard of hearing or cannot use their fingers to fill in or tap the screens on voting machines. Voters who use these accessibility options appear in the reconciliation totals the same as any other voter.

Voter Registration Records

Voter registration figures for Jim Wells County are maintained by both the county clerk's office and the Texas Secretary of State. You can check registration status by phone at (361) 668-5711 or verify online through the Texas Secretary of State's voter registration portal. The Jim Wells County Clerk's office allows voters to change their address by mail or in person. The mailing address for the elections office is PO Box 2188, Alice, Texas 78333.

How to Request Documents You Can't Find Online

Not every document from every election cycle will be immediately visible on the county website. For older tabulations, archived canvass PDFs, or L&A test certifications from prior cycles, a direct public records request to the Jim Wells County Elections office is the appropriate step. Under the Texas Public Information Act, election records are generally subject to disclosure. Requests can be submitted in person at the elections office in Alice, by mail to PO Box 2188, or by phone at (361) 668-5711.

For county, school district, and special district elections where the county serves as the administrator of record, all official documents flow through the same elections office. Understanding that structure — and knowing that the final canvass PDF, not the election-night tally, is the document that legally settles an outcome — is the foundation of effective civic oversight in Jim Wells County.