Public commenters urge Collin County to delay ES&S maintenance renewal for ballot-marking devices

Three residents asked Collin County Commissioners Court on April 28 to delay approval of an ES&S maintenance contract amendment covering ballot-marking devices, and county election staff told the court delaying the renewal would not harm operations if scheduled for consideration in June.

At the public-comment podium, Debbie Lindstrom, identifying herself as representing "Systems Defending Freedom," said concerns about electronic voting systems’ vulnerability should prompt counties to adopt paper-based options and to add protective contract language. Lindstrom said a national figure had warned about election-security vulnerabilities and urged the court to include an escape clause in the county contract amendment.

Avis Novak opposed ES&S contract amendment No. 10, which she described as a 3.5% increase that would add roughly $20,000 from the prior renewal and said firmware and maintenance fees of $370,000 comprise the largest portion of the amendment’s costs. Novak told the court the county’s total investment in ballot-marking devices (BMDs) and related maintenance was about $13.5 million to date and raised concerns she said were about security (unreadable barcodes that are used for tabulation), fiscal responsibility and timing amid federal and pending state guidance about hand-marked paper ballots.

Lee Moore urged the court to delay approval until after the current legislative session because, Moore said, several bills in Austin could change the specifications or requirements for voting systems and doing the renewal now could commit taxpayers to services that might become unnecessary.

Caleb Breaux, Collin County elections administrator, told the court he had asked the vendor whether a delay would harm operations and was told the vendor had previously accepted delays into June, July or August. Breaux said the county’s routine preventative maintenance on equipment typically occurs in the summer and that a short delay should be manageable.

After public comment and staff answers, court members pulled the renewal from the consent agenda so it could be discussed separately and discussed returning the item to the court on June 9 so the county will know which election-related bills, if any, have passed. The court did not vote to approve the contract amendment at the meeting.

Ending: County staff will return with the ES&S contract amendment for further consideration at a later meeting; commissioners and the elections office urged residents and interested parties to monitor legislative outcomes and county postings before the June revisit.