Ahead of May elections, the Dallas County Elections Department invited members of the public to try its new electronic pollbook and check-in devices. The public verification test gave people a chance to cast mock ballots and confirm their choices were recorded accurately.
"For us, it's a commitment to transparency, to being informative, to let people come in, ask questions and show what's behind the curtain," says Dallas County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia.
Garcia says voters had a chance to see how poll workers use equipment and learn more about the process they might not see when they spend just a few minutes at a polling place to cast their ballot.
In November, a malfunction with the check-in system led to almost 4,000 voters getting the wrong ballot for their precinct. Some people who live in the City of Dallas may have received ballots without charter amendments included; others who live outside the city may have received ballots with the charter amendments.
The Texas Secretary of State later took away the certification of the company that developed the system.
Garcia says Dallas County awarded a contract to a new company, bought equipment and had it delivered in less than 60 days. He says workers in the department learned how to set up the equipment and trained poll workers so they were ready.
"I don't know many teams that would have done this," he says. "I'm incredibly proud of the people of Dallas County Elections for pulling this one off."
Garcia says the process may be different for poll workers, but voters should not see a difference.
"The voter experience is going to be very similar," he says. "You're going to walk up to a device, your name's going to pop up, you're going to check your address, you're going to sign in to confirm, and you're going to move on to vote. For poll workers, you're going to see a lot of improvements in the experience."
The last day to register to vote in local elections is Thursday. Early voting starts April 22; Election Day is May 3.
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