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Staff says voting-system vendor lost Secretary of State certification; county to seek replacement
Summary
A county staff member told the Commissioners Court that the county's voting-system vendor is no longer certified with the Secretary of State and that staff will seek a new vendor; staff said multiple counties have contacted them about the same issue and that data backups and vendor certification status are being verified.
A staff member told the Commissioners Court that the county's voting-system vendor is no longer certified with the Secretary of State and that the county will search for a replacement vendor.
The staff member said the company (referred to in the meeting by several similar spellings) had a series of leadership resignations and ‘‘as of today, they are no longer certified with the secretary of state.’’ The staff member added that 12 other counties had contacted them about the same problem.
Why it matters: county election administration relies on vendor software for sign-in, ballot uploads and other official election functions. Losing a certified vendor requires the county to identify an alternative that meets the Secretary of State's certification requirements and to ensure official data remain secure and accessible.
Discussion and details: the staff member said the county uses the vendor to ‘‘sign people in’’ and to upload the official list and other election materials. They told the court they had contacted the county IT department and filed an IT ticket and that ‘‘all of our data will be saved’’ and could be returned to the Secretary of State on request. The staff member also said they planned to consult a contact at the Secretary of State to identify recommended vendors.
During the exchange, another attendee asked how many counties were affected; the staff member replied that ‘‘right now, I have 12 counties that have reached out to me.’’ The staff member also reported that some counties are backing up their data.
No formal procurement vote was recorded in the transcript. The staff member said they would begin outreach immediately and look for a new vendor; no timetable for vendor replacement or an interim solution was provided in the meeting.
The staff member referenced a contact named Hyder Garcia at Tarrant County as part of their outreach and noted leadership changes at the vendor, including a resigned CEO and president.
Next steps: staff said they will contact the Secretary of State for vendor recommendations and reach out to potential vendors; the court did not record a formal motion or vote on the record in the portion of the transcript provided.
