Dallas county commissioners will get to observe the county's new voter check-in system process ahead of the May election after a software glitch with a different vendor caused problems last election season.
The county authorized a 2-year contract last month with St. Louis-based KNOWiNK to become its new voter check-in system. At the request of Commissioner John Wiley Price, county commissioners will go two at a time to walk through the system with elections administrator Heider Garcia.
Commissioners plan to meet on March 13 for a special session to discuss the voter check-in system, with Price saying he'd be interested in discussing its compatibility with other systems.
"That's what I'm looking to talk about with regards to tech support, staffing, expertise, training, support roles and coverage, response protocols, etc.," Price said.
By demoing the new system, Garcia said he hopes commissioners will feel more confident come May.
"We'll answer those questions when you come to the office and maybe — again, hands on, talking to the team, seeing the thing — it'll show why we're so confident where we are right now," Garcia said.
November's software glitch impacted thousands of voters during the check-in process, with nearly 4,000 people in the county getting the wrong ballot in the first two days of early voting. Additional glitches also threw off the ballot count by nearly 200 votes at a Desoto early voting location.
That system was operated by the provider Election Systems and Services, or ES&S.
Commissioners met with ES&S in December to consider performing an emergency certification on the system in time for the next election.
But the Texas Secretary of State later decertified ES&S and the company would not have been able to recertify until March 3, which would have jeopardized election preparation.
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