Collin County approves vendor to redact ballot images, rejects manual option

Collin County Commissioners Court on an unrecorded date approved a contract to use a commercial redaction tool to prepare ballot images for public release and approved several consent items, including a personnel promotion and signage on county roads. The court voted 5–0 to authorize the elections office to proceed with the vendor solution after county staff outlined the time and cost of doing redaction manually.

The county's elections administrator, Caleb Breaux, told the court that the attorney general had advised counties to redact ballot images before making them publicly available to avoid linking ballots to specific voters. Breaux said staff consulted neighboring counties and identified a vendor (referred to in the packet as Severa/Seveira) that provides a redaction tool and a hosted service. He said the vendor would supply a cloud-hosted redaction system that the county would operate; the vendor would only review ballots if the county reported tool problems.

Breaux told commissioners the manual alternative would require far more staff time and expense. He said the 2024 general election yielded 520,196 ballot-image records requiring redaction; at an estimated 2.5 minutes per image, that would total about 21,675 labor hours. The county estimated the in-house manual cost at about $324,000 and 27 weeks of work using roughly 20 part‑time workers. For the 2024 primary, Breaux said 37,685 images would take about 5,737 hours and an estimated $84,000 and seven weeks to complete manually.

Judge (presiding) and other commissioners asked whether the vendor's hosted ballot‑publishing service was included in the contract. Breaux said the vendor's online hosting is an additional service not included in the redaction contract; he indicated the county’s budget already includes a separate line item for online hosting if the court chooses to add it later.

The court had pulled the elections item from the consent agenda for discussion and then voted 5–0 to approve moving forward with the vendor-based redaction approach. The motion carried without a roll-call listing individual yes votes in the record.

The court also approved other consent items during the meeting, including a personnel promotion (Lauren Davis) and the formal placement of regulatory signs on county roads after a public hearing with no speakers. Health Care Foundation and Toll Road Authority consent agendas were also approved by voice vote.

The court did not provide legislation or contract numbers in the discussion presented to the public. Breaux said he would confirm whether the vendor’s maintenance/hosting charges are included in the quoted cost and follow up with commissioners.

Votes at a glance

- Approval to contract with a redaction vendor for ballot images: motion approved 5–0. (Discussion led by Caleb Breaux, Collin County Elections Administrator.) - Personnel promotion — Lauren Davis: approved 5–0. - Regulatory-traffic signs public hearing and associated motions: approved (voice vote, no public speakers). - Health Care Foundation consent agenda: approved 5–0. - Toll Road Authority consent agenda: approved 5–0.

The court did not specify contract numbers, an exact vendor legal name beyond the packet reference, or a final implementation schedule in the public discussion. Breaux said he would provide additional cost-line clarifications and confirm which hosting services, if any, are included in the contract.