A new elections electronic voter check-in tablet provider has been chosen for Dallas County.
Commissioners are expected on Tuesday to formally authorize the 2-year contract for up to $7.6 million contract with new vendor, St. Louis-based KNOWiNK, LLC.
The Texas Secretary of State could approve a Help America Vote Act (HAVA) reimbursement grant to replace 3,152 electronic pollbooks used in the November 2024 general election that the state decertified.
The county must match 20 percent of the grant — about $881,000.
The Elections department will pay about $652,000 from another state grant, and $452,000 will come from the decertified ES&S system license fees previously budgeted.
Texas decertified the last provider, Election Systems and Services, in December after their software glitched on devices during the fall election.
A new electronic pollbook provider was sought after the tablet devices used to check in voters glitched at some locations during the November election.
The software on some ES&S tablets election clerks use to check in voters in the last election had frozen the screens, then rebooted.
Elections administrator Heider Garcia said once they restarted, the electronic poll book possibly did not save the last voter as checked in.
Dallas County needs an electronic voter check in system to comply with the Texas Election Code because the county's physical size and voter population makes early voting at only one location "logistically unfeasible," according to the county
A voter check-in system without electronic poll books would force the county to revert to Election Day precinct-based voting.
That, the county said in its recommendation, causes voter confusion, possibly going to vote at the wrong polling location.
It would also increase provisional ballots, which requires more staff and time to count, process and verify.
Manual voter check in would also require more staff and resources.
Companies still approved in Texas to provide electronic pollbooks for elections systems are ContentActive, Tenex, VOTEC, Know Ink and VR Systems.
Got a tip? Email Marina Trahan Martinez at mmartinez@kera.org. You can follow Marina at @HisGirlHildy.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
