Dallas County runs third test of its voting machines to address concerns
DALLAS - Dallas County Elections ran another test of its voting machines on Thursday after Republicans raised concerns about accuracy.
Republican lawmakers claim the tests are all about election integrity.
But some Democrats are frustrated that the county was asked to run a third test of its machines just days before the start of early voting.
"We are destroying the integrity of our elections by falsely attacking the integrity of our elections," said Sen. Nathan Johnson, a Democrat from Dallas.
Dallas County discovered a ballot error during testing on Sept. 18.
During a Texas Senate committee meeting on Wednesday, poll workers testified about that error, saying the machines failed on two mail-in ballots and two in-person ballots.
The problem was fixed a day later. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office also tested Dallas County’s machines again and found the issue was resolved.
"That should have been the end of it, but it wasn’t. We have more people demanding more questions. I don’t think they will ever be satisfied," Johnson said.
The continued concerns from Republicans prompted the third test.
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Republican Senators Bob Hall and Tan Parker, and Democrats Royce West and Johnson watched the testing, which went on for more than three hours.
Johnson and West talked to the media afterward. Hall and Parker did not.
West thinks all the testing is part of a bigger problem – the lack of trust in a system that once had little criticism.
"All this is being fed by a candidate, Donald Trump, talking about the fairness of the election," he said.
"This is about addressing all the concerns, all the communication issues. I want to make sure we have an adequate number of people observing," Sen. Parker said during the committee meeting on Wednesday.
Early voting starts on Monday at 7 a.m.