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Commissioners approve elections‑office security upgrade and confirm judge appointments despite public concerns of conflict
Summary
The court approved a $3,345 HTS contract to install alarms and access control at the elections office funded by a federal Harbor/"Help America Build" grant and approved a slate of election judges and alternates for the November election after public commenters raised concerns about a perceived conflict of interest involving an early‑voting judge.
The Uvalde County Commissioners Court on Oct. 27 awarded HTS $3,345.35 to install alarm and access control systems on three doors at the elections office and accepted that the contract cost will be paid from a federal Harbor ("Help America Build") grant, with a local match, County staff said.
"It'd be my recommendation to the court to award to HTS, the amount of $3,345.35 for the installation of the alarm systems over there at the election office," County staff said. Staff noted the county received $42,500 in the referenced federal award with a local match requirement.
The court then moved to confirm its list of election judges and alternates for the upcoming November election. The elections administrator said she had consulted the Texas Ethics Commission and the secretary of state's legal team and that those offices did not find a legal conflict in the appointment of Jolene Williams to an early‑voting ballot board position.
Several members of the public urged the court not to appoint Williams because the petitioners seeking to create Emergency Services District No. 3 (a separate ballot item) included Williams’ husband and son‑in‑law, which residents said created a perceived conflict of interest. "The perception of conflict of interest is very clearly seen," citizen Dan Hubert said.
Staff and at least one commissioner responded that state offices did not find a statutory conflict and that the ESD, if created, would be administered by the taxing entity and could contract services to volunteer fire departments without an automatic direct personal benefit to an individual. The court voted to approve the appointments after discussion.
Citizens also asked for improved chain-of-custody, stronger tabulation controls and clearer roles for presiding officers and station managers; one commenter praised the new security hardware and urged bipartisan cooperation to strengthen election procedures.
