Dallas County to replace some voting equipment that caused problems
Dallas County replacing some voting equipment
Dallas County Commissioners moved to resolve a problem that led to long lines during the last election. It was an issue with the electronic devices used to check in voters, verify their precincts, and print the proper ballots.
DALLAS - Dallas County Commissioners moved to resolve a problem that led to long lines during the last election.
It was an issue with the electronic devices used to check in voters, verify their precincts, and print the proper ballots.
Dallas County Pollbook Problems
The backstory:
During the November 2024 election, the state decertified Dallas County’s current electronic pollbook vendor after the equipment malfunctioned and at least 4,000 voters got incorrect ballots.
ES&S is trying to gain state approval again, but that might not happen until mid-March.
And by then, it may be too late.
Dallas County ballot errors may have impacted Prop U vote
Thousands of people received the wrong ballot on Election Day in Dallas County. While most local races were not close enough to be impacted by the error, it could have impacted one controversial city proposition.
Big picture view:
Commissioners held a special meeting on Tuesday to pick a new vendor.
"Why couldn’t we just wait for ES&S and see if they get certified?" asked Judge Clay Jenkins.
"We could but we can’t promise you they’ll get certified," Dallas County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia replied. "If that day the answer is oops, we didn’t pass, we’re dead. There’s no longer an option to do anything."
Plus, the new equipment needs to be ready by late March. That’s when poll workers begin training for the upcoming May elections and early voting in April.
New Pollbook Vendor Selected
What we know:
A selection committee recommended a company called Knowink.
Commissioner John Wiley Price pushed for a third company called Votec that the county already uses for voter registration.
In the end, the majority of the commissioners voted to trust Garcia and the selection committee’s recommendation.
Knowink was awarded the $7.6 million contract.
What's next:
Knowink still has to make good on its promises to deliver 4,500 pollbooks by mid-March.
"They made a proposal that said we can deliver these devices by mid-March. You’ll have them all in hand. If they commit to that, if they actually deliver, then yeah, they’ll be the new pollbook provider that we’ll work with from this point on," Garcia said.
Meanwhile, ES&S is still under contract with the county.
So, if Knowink can’t deliver and ES&S gets recertified by the Secretary of State, Dallas County could still use the ES&S pollbooks for the May election.
Why you should care:
It’s election drama that has nothing to do with the names on the ballot and everything to do with your vote counting.
The Source: FOX 4 reporter Shaun Rabb gathered information for this story at the Dallas County Commissioners special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.