Election Commission Seeks Volunteers For Input On New Voting Equipment

In the aftermath of an ‘anomaly’ in the November election, the Hays County Elections Office is moving forward on plans to improve the voter experience and prevent future oversights.

Hays County, TX – The Hays County Election Commission is seeking interested citizens to serve on a Citizen Committee that will make recommendations to the Election Commission on new voting machines.

Current voting equipment is more than 10 years old and is scheduled to be replaced. Hays County voting equipment is used not only in county-wide elections, but also in many of the elections held by municipalities, school districts, and special districts within Hays County.

After the Citizen Committee makes recommendations to the Election Commission, the Commission will make its recommendation to the Hays County Commissioners Court, which will then make a final decision on the purchase of new equipment.

The Election Commission will select seven citizens to view demonstrations by voting equipment vendors after which the Citizen Committee will vote on a recommendation to the Election Commission about which equipment best suits the needs of Hays County voters based on specific criteria such as ADA compliance, performance, security, value and user-friendliness.

Currently, there are three State-certified voting equipment vendors; others may be added if the State certifies them.

Jennifer Anderson, Hays County Elections Administrator, will chair the Citizen Committee. She will be joined by Jeff McGill, Hays County IT Director; John Adams, Hays County Democratic Party Chair, and Russell Hayter, Hays County Republican Party Chair.

Two nonvoting members will also be part of the Citizen Committee: Virginia Flores, Chief Voter Registration/Election Clerk and Tomas Cardosa, Elections Data Programmer, who both work in the Elections Office.

The times and places of meetings will be determined once the committee is formed, but those chosen should expect to spend several hours each month for as many as three months viewing demonstrations and participating in committee meetings.

To be considered for the Citizen Committee, send an email by Noon April 17 to VoteEquipment@co.hays.tx.us that includes why you would like to be on the committee, and any background you have in voting in Hays County or elsewhere, and/or understanding of the voting process and/or voting equipment. The Election Commission expects to announce committee members at its April 20 meeting.