Tarrant County tracked wait times at the polls but didn’t share them with voters. Why?
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Tarrant County collected real-time information on wait times at polling places in Tuesday’s primaries, but that information was not made available to residents to help them decide where to vote.
The Star-Telegram observed long lines at some polling stations Tuesday, while others had no wait times at all. A line to vote in the Republican primary extended onto the sidewalk outside the White Settlement Library in the early afternoon. But there were no lines at the polling place at Redeemer Bible Church, a seven-minute drive from the library.
Voters waiting at the White Settlement Library expressed frustration at having to wait so long. Some said they had already visited other polling places, and left them in search of shorter lines elsewhere.
“They told us it would be 45 minutes to an hour,” said a voter who declined to give his name.
Poll workers collected wait time information
Poll workers at several locations were observed reporting wait times to the Tarrant County Election Administration via tablet computers. Some poll workers said the information was to be made available online, but that was not the case.
Tarrant County’s election website states that, “Due to a recent change in vendors, there are no live check-in counts for wait times for this election. We are working to provide a solution but it will not be available for the March 5, 2024, Primary Election.”
In years past, voters have been able to check wait times at polling places online to help them select where to vote. Tarrant County has countywide voting, which means voters can go to any polling place on Election Day.
In April 2023, the county signed an annual contract with KNOWiNK, an election software company, for its electronic poll book system, commissioner court records show. Electronic poll book systems use equipment like laptops, tablets and kiosks that allow voter registration records to be accessed digitally, according to the United States Election Assistance Commission.
KNOWiNK’s poll book system Poll Pad is meant to “mitigate long lines with fast and secure voter look-up” and has built-in “election management and reporting tools,” according to the company’s website. The website does not say anything about reporting real-time wait times to the public.
County ‘exploring the process’ to share wait times
KNOWiNK replaced the county’s previous vendor, Tenex, and was the only respondent to the county’s contract request, according to Tarrant County spokesperson Bill Hanna.
Hanna in an email said the company is unable to provide wait times to the public, but the county is working with the vendor to provide this function.
“Elections Administration has begun exploring the process with our vendor to further develop their system to provide wait times for future elections,” Hanna said.
A Poll Pad user guide available on the Tarrant County website shows how election workers are to enter average wait times into the system.
Tarrant County Election Administrator Clint Ludwig did not respond to phone calls and text messages requesting comment. Assistant Administrator Troy Havard referred the Star-Telegram to Hanna.
KNOWiNK’s Chief Growth Officer Steele Shippy referred the Star-Telegram to the county election office when contacted with an interview request ahead of the primaries.
The system costs the county $212,000 in its first year and $152,200 in its second, according to commissioner court records. The contract was renewed in February through April 17, 2025.
Live wait time updates were also not available for elections in Tarrant County on June 10, 2023 and Nov. 7, 2023.
A list of polling locations was available on the Tarrant County election website.
The Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector makes wait times available on its website for its offices for services such as car registration renewals, property tax payments and car title transfers.
