Commissioners designate PollPads flip-stand supplier as sole source for existing hardware; vote 3–1

Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted 3–1 on May 6 to designate a vendor as a sole-source provider for flip stands and ID-slider hardware compatible with the county’s new poll book devices.

What the item covered: the agenda item (pulled from consent) sought a sole-source designation for hardware components used with the election-office poll book tablets (described in the packet as PollPads flip stands and ID slider pieces). The action approved a sole-source designation only; no purchase was approved at the meeting.

Public concerns and staff responses: resident Jackie Cox urged the court not to approve the sole-source designation without key procurement details. "Sole source purchases are exceptions to the general law which requires competitive bidding," Cox said, and asked for the number of units, unit price and total projected cost. Cox also raised data-security concerns about devices that capture ID information.

Elections staff and an elections vendor representative explained the stands are a proprietary configuration that holds the county’s newer poll books, flips the tablet between precinct workers and voters, and includes a sliding ID capture slot. An elections staffer (identified in the meeting as Clint) said, “This is the only one on the market that does this,” and noted the county already owns some stands; the designation would allow procurement of more compatible units.

Vote and outcome: the court approved the sole-source designation by a 3–1 vote. A dissenting commissioner said more competitive procurement or detail on quantity and cost would be appropriate before proceeding. County staff said any purchase would return to the court for approval.

Clarifying details: during discussion staff said the sole-source motion covered only the hardware stands and slider pieces (not the poll-book software) and that purchases would be brought back to the court with price details for approval. The Texas Secretary of State maintains a list of approved devices for use in voting; speakers noted multiple vendors can supply electronic signature capture devices, but staff said the specific configuration at issue is proprietary to the supplier.

Next steps: staff said the county will return with procurement documentation and cost estimates before any purchase is finalized.

Ending note: the court’s 3–1 action permits procurement staff to treat the specified flip-stand components as sole-source for compatibility with the county’s existing poll books, while leaving price and quantity decisions for subsequent approvals.