Bosque Commissioners Court table voting machine purchases

Bosque Commissioners Court table voting machine purchases Subhead Commissioners back bipartisan public meeting to review voting system Nathan Diebenow Wed, 06/05/2024 - 06:24 Image Body

The Bosque County Commissioners Court, during their regular meeting on Monday, June 3, 2024, decided by unanimous vote to table action on the purchase of new voting machine equipment.

The discussion, which included several community members and political party officials in the public comment period, revolved around the merits and drawbacks of investing in new printers for ballots and electronic pollbooks used to facilitate elections in Bosque County.

The conversation began with a request by Bosque County Elections Administrator Ashley Rupp, for new equipment – 12 ballot-on-demand printers and 11 electronic pollbooks.

Rupp highlighted that the new equipment from Election Systems & Software (ES&S) would simplify the voting process for voters who cast ballots on day one of an election and reduce the need for multiple ballot types, which can increase the cost of running elections significantly.

'This will make it easier for early elections and workers, so they don't have to filter through multiple ballot styles,' she said.

Rupp noted that in a previous election, 32 different ballots would have been printed during the early voting period.

Rupp assured the commissioners that only the pollbooks would be connected to the Internet to ensure no voter can cast a ballot more than once during an election season.

However, during the public comment period, several community members raised concerns about the security of the proposed purchase, specifically the likelihood of hackers manipulating the machines through the Internet.

Cybersecurity expert Dr. Jeremy McCornick outlined security flaws inherent in electronic voting machines. He argued that the proprietary nature of these systems prevents adequate inspection and verification.

“In 2020, NBC reported on a group of researchers who found almost three dozen voting servers online just by using Google searches,” he said. “Anything that can be connected online can be hacked.”

McCormick recommended eliminating electronic voting machines to avoid the high risks associated with potential hacking and insider threats, though he failed to provide evidence of any wrongdoing at the local level.

Bosque County Republican Party Chairman Marisusan Kennedy mentioned that the Texas Secretary of State had acknowledged issues with electronic pollbooks.

Kennedy advocated for a pause on the purchase of the new equipment to allow time for further research and consideration of the use of paper ballots counted by hand, which is supported by the Republican Party of Texas and the local party’s executive committee.

Bosque County Democratic Party Chairman Thomas Schenck noted that since he has been monitoring the local elections, he had seen no irregularities. He recommended that the commissioners finance the new voting equipment and continue to follow the Texas election code.

“Bosque County has always had fair and accurate elections,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything different from that. I’ve sat on the final counts. I’ve watched the county clerk, the election administration, the Republican judge. We know the count is fair in this last election and the previous six.”

The Bosque County commissioners – all of whom have run on the Republican Party’s ticket – voiced support for the county’s existing voting machine system and the current election administration and staff.

'If we don't have a problem with our election machines and our votes, then why fix it?' Precinct 1 Commissioner Billy Hall asked.

In addition, the commissioners brought up reports of long-wait times and numerous errors from handcounting of paper ballots during this year’s GOP primary in Gillespie County, Texas.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Ronny Liardon cast doubt that enough local election workers could be found to hand-count paper ballots, based on his experience struggling to find volunteers for events benefiting local non-profits he supports.

“We cannot fumble this football,” he said, stressing the importance of running fair, accurate elections.

Further discussion touched on accommodating people with different physical abilities across age levels to vote by curbside voting without disrupting the overall voting process.

'We have to provide curbside voting with priority and treat it the same as in-person voting,' Rupp explained.

The financial aspect of the proposed purchase was also scrutinized. The county had previously sold 25 surplus machines, generating $37,500 earmarked for voting equipment. These funds were from a grant and could not be repurposed for other uses.

Ultimately, the commissioners decided to defer the decision to allow for further consideration and input from the community at a public forum, after a motion was made by Liardon and seconded by Hall.