Harris County Clerk says 'emphasis voting' could affect ballots

FOX 26 News has received several calls from concerned voters regarding what they say are technical glitches at computer voting booths throughout Harris County. An investigation into those concerns determined that a phenomenon known as 'emphasis voting' can affect your ballot.

Several people who contacted FOX 26 had reported that their candidates' name(s) were missing from their ballots, which prompted a call to Stan Stanart, the Harris County Clerk and Chief Election Officer.

Stanart explained to FOX 26 that it was a result of 'emphasis voting' and emphasized that there’s no "rigged" election in Harris County.

“Every single candidate I voted for was checked with the exception of the President," said Johnny Johnson, a concerned voter.

Johnson also said that when he went to cast his vote at the library in Katy, his candidate, Donald J. Trump, disappeared from the top of his ballot. 

"If they are not extra careful and watch what they’re doing and they pull the straight Republican ballot, there’s a good chance Donald J. Trump will get eliminated off the ballot,” added Johnson.

But Stanart countered that the claim was just not true.

“What we saw today was a good example of 'emphasis voting' and that’s where I don’t believe the voters understand," added Stanart. "They vote straight party and then they want to make sure their candidate gets chosen and they actually deselect their candidate of choice."

Stanart also said that when Johnson voted straight party ticket, his candidate’s name would have been automatically selected.

FOX 26 News tested Stanart's explanation with a voter. 

Van (UT) Nguyen said the computer is an equal opportunist, deselecting any of the names on the ballot, if selected more than once.