Tom Green County commissioners back electronic voting tools, countywide polling and apply for $1.2 million DOT planning grant

Tom Green County Commissioners Court on Jan. 8 approved resolutions supporting the continued use of electronic poll books and electronic ballot-marking devices and reaffirmed support for countywide polling places, while also approving several budget adjustments, interlocal agreements with the City of San Angelo and a $1.2 million application to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s RAISE planning program.

The court voted to adopt a resolution opposing proposed legislation that would eliminate electronic poll books and electronic ballot‑marking devices, and separately adopted a resolution supporting countywide polling locations, after the county’s elections official outlined operational and staffing impacts if the technology were removed.

The elections official, identified in the record as Miss Hudson, said the proposed legislation would require a return to paper-based check-in and manual tallying that would slow vote verification and complicate the countywide vote-center model. "We would have to go back to paper and mark paper ballots," Hudson said. "It would have an effect of delaying us being able to produce lists of who voted because we would have to be doing manual entry." Hudson said the county relies on countywide polling to serve voters’ schedules and that in a recent election 67% of voters cast ballots outside their home precinct.

Hudson also described operational costs and equipment limits if the county returned to precinct‑based voting: "We only have 40 scanners and we only have 40 controllers," she said, adding that switching back would require buying more equipment and more support. She told the court the county performs state‑mandated post‑election manual checks to verify electronic results.

Beyond election business, the court approved routine financial items on the consent agenda, including a claims register and purchase orders and accepted a county clerk monthly report showing collections of $126,132.49 for December 2024. The court also approved several line‑item transfers and budget amendments to move modest amounts between building repair and capital improvement accounts, including an $8,420 transfer to cover carpet replacement in one county building.

The court approved a fiscal year 2025 purchase order to pay an invoice for fiscal year 2024 insurance‑consultant services totaling $28,000 that had not been received or paid before the FY24 close. The judge said the invoice simply had not been received in time and the county will put reminders or controls in place to avoid repetition.

Two interlocal agreements with the City of San Angelo were approved: one to allow county employees to use the city’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) training programs to address county staffing needs in road and bridge operations; and a second to allow county road crews temporary use of a city fire hydrant near Gateway Drive during the Ivy Lane water‑line shutdown so crews can refill trucks without driving back into town.

The court also authorized staff to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) program requesting $1.2 million in planning funds for countywide transportation planning. County staff described the RAISE application as a no‑match grant that would require the county to pay costs up front and seek reimbursement if awarded. "The highlights of the grant are, it's $1,200,000 request for planning," Miss Ferguson said. "This is just the application phase of it. There's no match. So there would not be a cost associated to the county for the application." The court voted to apply.

Votes at a glance: the court recorded motions and approvals for the consent agenda; line‑item transfers and budget amendments; adoption of the resolution supporting electronic poll books and ballot marking devices; adoption of the resolution supporting countywide polling places; approval of the FY25 purchase order to pay the FY24 insurance‑consultant invoice ($28,000); approval of the San Angelo short‑term facility use for a May 1, 2025 union employee luncheon; approval of the interlocal for CDL training; approval of the interlocal for water access during the Ivy Lane shutdown; and approval to apply for the $1.2 million RAISE planning grant. Individual roll‑call tallies were not recorded in the minutes supplied.

The meeting lasted about 25 minutes and closed after brief announcements and items for future agendas. Several commissioners and staff spoke in support of the election resolutions and the grant application; no formal dissent or recorded opposition appears in the supplied transcript.