Residents and advocates urge Collin County to end countywide voting, citing secrecy and audit concerns

Several members of the public urged the Collin County Commissioner’s Court to reconsider countywide voting and the county’s use of electronic poll books.

Debbie Lindstrom, speaking during public comment, asked the court to opt out of the countywide polling-place program and to lobby the Texas Legislature for precinct-based voting. She told the court that “countywide voting requires Internet connected electronic poll books to prevent multiple voting” and raised concerns about security and audits, citing what she characterized as noncompliance with Texas Election Code 42.006 and offering precinct-level counts “as of 06/23/2024” as evidence. Lindstrom also asked for a follow-up email from the court within a week to clarify precinct counts before the November election and said she worried that countywide voting “prevents meaningful audits.”

Chuck Reynolds, another public commenter, argued that hand-marked paper ballots are more secure and auditable than ballot-marking devices (BMDs). Reynolds said he compared two ballot methods across eight criteria and that the hand-marked approach ‘‘wins 7 of 8’’ while BMDs scored poorly in his comparison, calling the electronic BMD “unnecessary” and a source of an extra electronic translation that can affect transparency.

A subsequent commenter reiterated those concerns and cited examples from other states where election administrators moved away from electronic devices. Commenters asked the court to act quickly to protect ballot secrecy and auditability ahead of upcoming elections. County staff and commissioners did not adopt a policy during this meeting; public comment closed at the meeting’s end.