I don’t see this in your code
use Hound.Helpers
hound_session()
This is what I am using to test by following this book https://shankardevy.com/phoenix-inside-out-mpf/ . But it uses phantomjs
Also if you use Linux install phantomjs like this Problem with acceptance test in hound not starting server on port 4001
Update found this in my tests, it might be similar with what you need:
find_element(:css, "#registration_residence_area option[value='Area 1']")
|> click