Elections office to move voter registration to state TEAM and seek new electronic poll books

McLennan County's elections office notified commissioners Tuesday that it will move the county voter registration system from a private vendor to the Texas Secretary of State's TEAM system, and that the county needs to purchase new electronic poll books for elections because the current vendor (VOTEC) is facing financial uncertainty. The court recorded a vote for the migration to TEAM and granted a recording-motion to document the poll-book vendor procurement process. Elections Administrator Jared told the court that VOTEC, the county's current voter-registration system vendor, is experiencing financial difficulties and that the county must transfer its registration data to TEAM to ensure continuity. "VOTEC is having some financial difficulties. I'm seriously concerned about how long they're going to be staying in business, and, we need to move away from them," Jared said. He said the migration to TEAM will not cost the county immediately; the county's contract with VOTEC runs through September and staff are coordinating with the state to move the registration records to TEAM. Jared also described the need to replace electronic poll books (the devices poll workers use to check in voters). VOTEC had been the county's poll-book vendor; Jared said he has demoed three certified vendors (NoInc, 10x and VR Systems) and will continue vendor meetings at an election conference. He estimated total hardware costs between $90,000 and $100,000. He said the county has approximately $54,000 available from Chapter 19 state funds and has applied for a HAVA (Help America Vote Act) reimbursement (about $52,000). Jared said the HAVA approval is expected by the end of the week and that vendors told him these funds could be used retroactively if the county purchases equipment before final HAVA approval. Court action: The court voted to approve migrating voter registration to TEAM and recorded a motion for procurement of new electronic poll books for follow-up action. Commissioners asked staff to bring a purchase authorization back to the next meeting if HAVA reimbursements are approved; the court also authorized a recorded motion documenting intent to select a new certified poll-book vendor and to seek reimbursement through the HAVA grant and state funding where possible. What's next: Jared said he hoped to finalize a vendor decision as soon as the HAVA funding determination occurs so equipment can be delivered and tested in time for the November 4, 2025 constitutional special election. He told commissioners the change should not alter how voters mark ballots or how votes are scanned; the poll-book change affects check-in and roster functionality and electronic signature capture.