Dallas County could be on the hunt for new voter check-in software after issues in the Nov. 5 election.
DALLAS — Just about four months before Dallas voters return to the polls to elect city council members, Dallas County could be on the hunt for new voter check-in software after issues in the Nov. 5 election.
The window for picking the new software is closing quickly.
Dallas county’s electronic pollbooks from Election Systems & Software glitched during the November election, resulting in nearly 4,000 voters receiving and casting ballots in the incorrect precinct. The version of the pollbook software used in the November election has since been decertified by the state of Texas in an unprecedented move.
Judd Ryan, ES&S senior vice president of sales, told Dallas County Commissioners Tuesday that he believes they could test an updated version of the pollbook software and get it through the state certification process before early voting for the May 3 election begins April 22.
Dallas County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia told commissioners this week that the commissioners court would have to approve a contract with a new vendor by their Feb. 4 meeting.
“I don’t want to understate the critical timeline we’re on,” Garcia said.
Some of the commissioners said they weren’t confident ES&S’ new pollbook software would successfully get through the state certification process in time.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told ES&S representatives he wants a third party to test the new software as well.
The state certification process is expected to begin March 3, with third-party testing set to begin in early March and Dallas County testing to begin in late March.