Hays County Announces Tax Office Closures For Training, Reminds Residents Of Opportunity To Try Voting Equipment

Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, TX – All Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector offices will be closed Tuesday, September 17, for staff training. Offices are located at the Government Center in San Marcos, and the precinct offices in Dripping Springs, Kyle, and Wimberley. They will open again at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, September 18.

In other news, Hays County voters will have brand new voting machines for the November 2019 elections, and residents are welcome to try them out in advance by stopping by any precinct office during regular business hours until early voting begins this fall.

“The new Hart Intercivic Verity Duo Voting System is easy to use, but different from the machines we’ve been using since 2004,” Elections Administrator Jennifer Anderson said. “Residents are invited to stop by any of the County’s precinct offices or the Government Center to practice voting on the new devices.”

The Verity Duo system allow users to switch between English and Spanish at any time during the voting process. Voters who need an adaptive device can choose from a rotating selection wheel, plug-in earphones, or a sip-and-puff option. Poll workers will also have a cart-based system for curbside voting.

At the precinct offices, practice voters will see three machines. The first one, on the left, will be used to get the access code for voting (during an election this will be done by a poll worker).

The middle machine is the voting machine – with a touch screen – that will ask voters twice to confirm their choices and then print a paper ballot for scanning, giving yet another opportunity to review selections.

To finalize the vote and actually cast the ballot, voters will place the paper ballot in the scanner to the right of the voting machine. The scanner will read the text, and then drop the paper ballot into a secure, locked ballot box so it will be available for standard auditing and should a recount be necessary. Voters will know their vote is complete when they see the United States flag wave on the screen, just as it has with previous voting equipment.

Try out the new machines at the Hays County Courthouse, 111 E. San Antonio St., San Marcos (3^rd floor); Precinct 2 Office, 5458 FM 2770 at Crystal Meadow Drive, Kyle; Precinct 3 Office at 200 Stillwater, Wimberley; Precinct 4 Office at 195 Roger Hanks Parkway, Dripping Springs, and the Elections Office at the Hays County Government Center, 712 S. Stagecoach Trail, San Marcos.