Voting equipment upgrades, electioneering regulations dominate commissioners court

Apr. 22—WEATHERFORD — Parker County commissioners were hit Monday with a financial surprise tied to voting equipment.

Elections Administrator Crickett Miller informed the court that 115 iPads used for polling pads are near their end-of-life, meaning the iOS operating systems for the 2017 machines cannot be updated any further than they already are, creating the potential for security risks.

Asked if this was something the county could've forseen, Miller told commissioners the issue was first mentioned in November, and again in March.

The administrator presented the court with quotes, including the cheapest option — around $128,000 — from Hart InterCivic, which includes new iPads as well as the polling software provided by KnowInk. The problem, she said, was where the money would come from, with about $46,000 left in her contingency budget.

Auditor Briana Fowler said the funds would have to come from the general fund balance, which had around $197,000, but she also noted the court would have to declare an emergency in order to pull from that resource.

"When we set this budget, it was prior to November, so we didn't know," Precinct 2 Commissioner Jacob Holt pointed out.

Asked if there were other cheaper options, such as using Windows machines instead of Apple, Miller said that brand is the only one KnowInk uses.

"I don't like surprises and I don't like emergencies, and I want to talk to someone from KnowInk," Precinct 3 Commissioner Larry Walden demanded. "If there are security concerns, if it's that big of a deal, why didn't we hear that from them? These are machines we're using [at my barn] right now [for early voting]."

County Judge Pat Deen concurred, asking Miller to get in touch with a representative who could speak at an upcoming meeting.

IT Director James Caywood noted that the older iPads could be sold — either at auction or to a resaler, which would likely net more profit — and that money would go back into the general fund.

Miller added the drop-dead date for getting the new equipment in time for November's election would be the beginning of September.

The administrator also noted the need for more voting machines with a projected increase in voter turnout for the November presidential election.

Miller said she'd like to have 239 total DUOs, an increase of 43, to help with long lines that occurred on March 5, which saw more than 540 individuals voting after 7 p.m. The Election Code allows voters to still cast their ballot after the polls close as long as they are in line by 7 p.m.

Some of the more saturated sites included Azle City Hall and Legacy Church, which had eight and three DUO machines, respectively. Legacy Church finished at 8:40 p.m. while Azle City Hall finished at 8:16 p.m.

Quotes from Hart InterCivic were $109,000 for 25 machines and $230,000 for 50.

Miller noted registered voters have grown about 20 percent since 2020.

Deen noted the DUO and iPad requests were a lot from a budgetary standpoint.

"The security component is the most important thing, to me," Precinct 4 Commissioner Mike Hale said. "The amount of time you're waiting in line, I'm cognizant of that ... the question is can we come up with a reasonable ratio, trim any fat and budget going forward so we can plan for that?"

Miller said she'd also inquired whether they could just lease the DUO machines.

"But Hart doesn't do that," she said. "Anything is better than zero."

Commissioners tabled action on both items, with intent to bring them back at a future meeting.

The court also had a lengthy discussion on electioneering regulations after concerns during March's election for safety and visibility at county polling sites.

Miller said one voter was hit by another in a parking lot in Brock, likely due to visibility issues.

"Limiting signs would be wonderful, maybe a certain number or certain size," she said.

County Attorney John Forrest said they must be careful in not prohibiting first amendment rights, "but as long as the regulations are reasonable and tied to safety ... Individuals are being respectful of the 100-foot rule, but outside of that area, if it's common, they have the right to express who they want you to vote for."

Party chairs said poll workers have done a reasonably good job of defending the 100-foot barrier, but have no jurisdiction outside of that.

Walden said he had several complaints from the Precinct 3 barn site.

"We had people violating the 100-foot marker, and the election judge handled that very well, but it kept occurring," he said. "Another thing is I have a very small parking lot and there was someone — I don't know who — and every car got stopped at the entrance, backing traffic up to the state highway.

"I didn't feel it was my place to go out and direct traffic."

Forrest, answering Holt's question on whether they could limit interaction with drivers, said that could constitute a first amendment violation.

The general consensus by the court, though no action was taken Monday, was to possibly limit the size of candidate signage.

The idea of instituting 50- or 20-foot setbacks was also brought up, but Democratic Party Chair Kay Parr pointed out that could eliminate all signs on the courthouse annex lawn, depending on the figure.

"Could it be 20 feet?" she asked. "Fifty feet sounds excessive."

Holt noted that if they regulated signs to be the size of a typical yard sign, that would eliminate a need for setbacks.

Forrest, however, noted that big signs in the backs of trucks and other vehicles is permitted under the First Amendment.

"It's no difference than a box truck with an advertisement on the side parking in that same spot."

The court agreed to review the item at an upcoming meeting after doing more research.

Commissioners did take action on changes to voting center locations, however, to help the county stay within Texas Election Code guidelines, which prohibit designating a polling place that requires a voter in the precinct to travel more than 25 miles from their residence.

Changes include switching from the northeast annex to Legacy Church; from the Precinct 4 barn to New Faith Baptist; and from the Precinct 3 barn to First Baptist Church.