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Lubbock County sets early‑voting plan and OKs contingency in elections software contract
Summary
The county approved early‑voting dates, sites and staffing for the May 26, 2026 runoff and authorized the county judge to sign an elections‑software amendment that includes a contingency vendor fee the elections administrator described as $1,500 per election if external services are required. Officials also discussed a backlog printing voter cards and limits imposed by the state system.
Lubbock County Commissioner's Court on April 13 approved the early‑voting schedule, main early‑voting site, ballot judges, election‑day vote centers and central counting‑station staff for the May 26, 2026 Democratic and Republican runoff and authorized a software agreement amendment intended to protect the county's ability to run poll books.
Why it matters: The actions lay out the logistics voters will rely on for the May 26 runoff and add an administrative safeguard that could require the county to pay a vendor to build poll books if state systems or local capacity fail.
The court voted unanimously to adopt the early‑voting dates, times and locations and to designate the county elections office as the main early‑voting site. It also confirmed Ronnie Gallagher as early‑voting judge and Beth Shapiro as alternate, approved election‑day vote centers and named the central station manager and tabulation supervisors required under state election code.
Roxanne Stinson, identified in the meeting as the elections administrator, told commissioners that changes to the statewide voter‑registration systems and vendor availability have strained local operations and that the county has arranged a contingency with a vendor to build poll books if necessary. "That cost is gonna be $1,500 on election day," Stinson said, specifying that the charge would be per election only if the vendor must be engaged to prepare poll books.
Stinson described operational limits in the county's ability to print voter cards in bulk. She said the office has completed about 40,000 voter cards to date but cannot print the full voter roll in‑house due to staffing and software restrictions and that current printing is handled on a request‑by‑request basis. "I do not have the manpower or the resources set here to go through all of those and clean up those addresses," she said, urging the public to contact the elections office for assistance.
County officials said the amendment gives the county an avenue for continuity if the state or third‑party providers cannot deliver poll books in time for early voting. The court voted to authorize the county judge to sign the vendor licensing and service amendment.
The court approved the package of election items following staff presentations and brief questions; there were no recorded dissents during the votes. The clerk will post the early‑voting schedule and provisional‑ballot cure dates, and the elections office will continue public outreach on sample ballots and voter card verification procedures.
