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Williamson County Election Commission certifies May 5 primary results, vows testing fixes after tabulator shutdown
Summary
The Williamson County Election Commission unanimously certified the May 5, 2026 primary results on May 19 and said it will change its Logic & Accuracy testing and closure procedures after a DS200 tabulator setting required a master override password and delayed finalization about 30 minutes.
The Williamson County Election Commission unanimously certified the results of the May 5, 2026 Republican and Democratic primary elections at its May 19 meeting and announced procedural changes after an election-night tabulator shutdown delayed final results.
Chair Jonathan Duda apologized to commissioners and poll workers for the closing error and said the issue caused “an approximate 30-minute delay in finalizing WCEC Election Day results.” The commission received and reviewed a memorandum (Attachment 4) describing the DS200 tabulator behavior and follow-up steps.
Why it matters: Administrator of Elections Chad Gray told commissioners the DS200 scanners were programmed with an option that required a master override password to close the tabulators, a setting that had not been used in prior elections and is not provided to poll workers. Gray said the problem was not a hardware failure but "a process failure and a gap in the completeness of our L&A testing procedures," and recommended changes to testing and technician verification so poll workers will not face that requirement on future Election Days.
The commission took immediate procedural steps. Secretary Wanda Bruce Graham moved to certify the county primary results and Chair Duda seconded; the motion passed unanimously, 5-0. Commissioners directed machine technicians to ensure the override password is not required for poll-worker shutdowns and to incorporate shutdown verification into the Logic & Accuracy (L&A) checklist going forward. Commissioners also scheduled a post-election performance audit for the May 5 primary at their next meeting, set for June 5, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
The meeting packet included a May 19 memorandum from Administrator Gray describing the issue and recommending process changes (Attachment 4). Gray said machine technicians and election staff will verify that the documented shutdown instructions used by poll officers match the actual on-screen workflows during future L&A testing.
The commission adjourned at 5:00 p.m.; commissioners also approved candidate certification and discussed voter-notification steps related to recent congressional redistricting during the same meeting.
