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Dallas County officials warn of fragile election equipment and probe voter‑roll removals
Summary
County elections staff told the Commissioners Court they are still repairing hundreds of voting machines and preparing contingency plans for the May joint election and November; the court also discussed reports from the Secretary of State that some registered voters were flagged as deceased and said it had paused removals pending further investigation.
Elections officials told the Dallas County Commissioners Court on April 21 that hundreds of voting units are in need of repair and that the county is pursuing both stop‑gap rentals and a longer‑term equipment replacement process.
"At this point we have 377 voting units that are currently in need of repair," Elections Director Mr. Adams said, describing first‑day failures during the start of early voting and the need for expanded on‑site technical support. The department outlined a two‑track plan: step up preventative maintenance on the existing fleet and pursue state certification and procurement of newer equipment.
Why it matters: The county is only 35 days from a joint election on May 2 and is simultaneously preparing for a later runoff and the November cycle. Officials said renting additional certified units would be an interim fix; staff estimated $1.8 million as a starting figure to rent extra machines for November if needed.
Commissioners pressed the elections office on logistics and timelines. "If you look down the road toward November, are you going to be able to have sufficient equipment?" Commissioner John Wy Price asked. Mr. Adams said the county will request a higher level of vendor maintenance and consider a rental plan to guarantee working machines on election day.
The court also heard testimony about poll‑book and poll‑pad replacements, training and pay increases for poll workers to improve staffing and retention. Commissioners noted that hardware, operations, training and on‑site troubleshooting must all be addressed to prevent long voter lines.
Voter‑roll removals: The court discussed multiple reports that voter files provided by the Secretary of State included registrants marked as deceased. County elections staff said they have stopped any further removals while they investigate the state files.
"We have stopped the removal of any voters going forward so we can figure out with the state what exactly happened," a county elections official told the court. The court asked staff to provide a list of records purged in 2025 and 2026 that originated from the Secretary of State for review.
What happens next: Elections staff said they will return with a maintenance‑and‑support package, a rental budget and an updated inventory of the machines that remain operational. The court asked to be kept apprised in real time if vendor assurances, supplies or certifications fall behind schedule.
Attribution: Quotes and figures in this article come from the county elections briefing and the Commissioners Court discussion recorded in the public transcript.
