Freestone County election officials plan extra poll books and early voting sites after ES&S poll-book failures

Freestone County election officials told commissioners the vendor ES&S has recalled or will recertify poll books after a malfunction during the November election that prevented downloading records for 65 voters.

An elections official said, "As of right now, our poll books are not certified through SOS at all," and the vendor promised recertification by March. Staff described the November problem as poll-judges repeatedly hitting an accept button that caused some poll books to "go haywire," forcing ES&S technicians to extract 65 names and confirm those voters had cast ballots.

Officials reported the county now has 14 usable poll books and 13 polling locations; they proposed purchasing five additional poll books with cases and printers to ensure redundancy and avoid being unable to serve precincts should equipment fail. The elections official asked commissioners whether the purchases could be added to a budget amendment and funded from contingency so the county could order the equipment promptly.

The court also approved early-voting arrangements in Wortham fire department, Butler and Fairfield administration offices for the upcoming election, and staff described dates and limited staffing for early voting. The elections official said using paper forms remains a fallback option if vendor recertification is not completed in time.

Commissioners directed staff to prepare the budget amendment language and procurement steps; no formal vote on the purchase was recorded in the transcript.