Dallas County Early Voting Debacle

Published on:

October 28, 2024

Chairman's Monday Message

Greetings, everyone. I truly wish that our early voting in Dallas County last week had gotten off to a better start, but it did not. Sadly, everything we brought your attention to was dismissed and disregarded in the face of an utter meltdown, starting on Day One. Going all the way back to June when we submitted a letter on the necessity of a third-party audit of the Dallas County Elections Department (DCED). To the recent summary of the October 8th testing of the DCED election equipment, those processes, procedures, and protocols which should be aligned with Texas Election Code. What we brought attention to was made clear immediately on the first day of Dallas County early voting.

The electronic poll books that are used to check in voters and assign them their correct ballots malfunctioned, severely. It was so bad that many voters in Dallas County were sent away due to repeated failures to print out their correct ballot . . . wrong precinct numbers were prominent. This resulted in countless delays and extended lines. We were told by the DCED administrator, Heider Garcia, that this was all a software issue. Supposedly the vendor, ES&S (Election Systems and Software), delivered a new software update, but how was that update validated, tested, and verified? Regardless, we experienced continued issues with the ePollbooks throughout the week. And, the greater issue is that we have thousands of “spoiled” ballots that have not been reconciled, and in some cases, not properly tracked.

We made mention of issues with the ExpressVote machines, which serve as the actual ballot marking devices, improperly flip voters’ choices. This is a recurring issue from previous election cycles. It is imperative that voters conduct all checks of their ballots and not rely upon the ExpressVotes machine to record their selections properly. There are at least three different opportunities for a voter to check their ballot before submitting it.

As well, we have experienced issues with the DS200 ballot tabulators, where the voter inputs their reviewed ballot. These machines have been failing and forcing voters to submit their ballot selections into a slot designated for manual processing. You can just imagine the ensuing confusion with what will be a mixture of manual and automated processing of ballots, along with spoiled ballots that will have to be accounted for.

I want to give a personal hat tip, a superb Bravo Zulu, to our DCRP team. They have established a Rapid Response hotline at 214-369-9555 ext 2. We have received hundreds of calls and have been collecting a number of personal declarations regarding the issues voters are having. This is not just about Republicans, we have had Democrat voters calling us because — for whatever reason — this does not appear to be an issue worthy of attention by the Dallas County Democrat Party. Perhaps they believe this disenfranchising and dismissal of election law serves to their benefit.

We still can accept people as Poll Watchers, and we will ensure that you are not restricted, obstructed, and impeded from doing your lawfully designated duty. Contact us if you wish to receive Poll Watcher training. Transparency is critical and after this week, many appear discouraged. Do not be so, get out and vote, if you are experiencing issues, contact us, but do not be discouraged from voting, stay engaged and report issues that are disconcerting.

This is about accountability and responsibility of those involved with our electoral systems. Voters must have confidence in our representative democracy and the means by which we preserve it, by voting. Just know, I will be relentless in protecting our Constitution and the right to citizens voting, not non-citizens. As well, the silence of elected officials and Texas government agency bureaucrats is deafening, and telling. It is my sincere hope that these individuals are not complicit in the perpetuation of these issues.

Lastly, the Dallas County Elections Department, by Texas Election Code, is to maintain a plan, procedures, for emergency situations such as this appears to be. To this date, they have not rectified this situation and have only put a band-aid on a sucking chest wound. We need to know what their plan is when these machines continue to fail. Needless to say, it may be quite difficult, and unethical, to say that the first week of Early Voting results in Dallas County can be certified.

Steadfast and Loyal.