RESTORE ACCESSIBLE VOTING CODE REQUESTS FOR HMEPS MEMBERS

THE PROBLEM
City of Houston employees are calling for an investigation into HMEPS's directive to its election administrator, YesElections, restricting how members can obtain their voting codes.

In prior HMEPS elections, members who lost, misplaced, or never received their mailed voting notice could request their voting code by phone or email. Beginning with the current election cycle in July 2026, this option was removed without notice — leaving members who lack access to their physical mail effectively unable to vote.

This sudden, unannounced change has raised serious concerns among employees that it was designed to suppress voter participation rather than protect election integrity.

WHAT WE ARE DEMANDING
We call on HMEPS to:

1. Investigate: City of Houston, HMEPS administration, and appropriate oversight bodies should determine why phone and email code requests were eliminated just as the election began, and whether this was a deliberate barrier to voting. If so, corrective action must follow.
2. Reinstate access immediately: Restore members' ability to request their voting code by phone or email when their mailed notice is lost, discarded, or never received.
3. Communicate clearly: Ensure all HMEPS members are informed of this process.
4. Make it permanent: Establish phone/email code requests as standard practice for all future HMEPS elections.

This is not a request to weaken election security — it's a request to keep voting accessible while maintaining reasonable identity verification, as it was until this election cycle.

WHY THIS MATTERS
HMEPS manages retirement funds for employees of the fourth-largest city in the United States. Trustee elections determine who oversees that system on members' behalf. A member should never lose that voice simply because a letter was lost, discarded, or never arrived.

Removing a previously available, low-barrier way to access voting codes — without notice, right as an election opened — undermines both the fairness of the election and members' trust in the institution managing their earnings.

The 2026 HMEPS Trustee Election closes at 5:00 PM Central Time on August 21, 2026. Time is short, making immediate reinstatement essential for eligible members to still participate.

SIGN THIS PETITION
If you're an HMEPS member, City of Houston employee or retiree and believe pension plan members deserve meaningful access to their own elections, please sign and share this petition. Help us demand an investigation into this change and restore fair, accessible voting practices at HMEPS.