Tarrant County voters will be casting ballots on new machines for this year’s Nov. 5 constitutional amendment election.County Commissioners recently signed off on an $11 million plan to buy this new equipment, part of Austin-based Hart InterCivic’s Verity line.
These machines, approved for use by the Texas Secretary of State’s office, include a paper trail.
Voters will use a touchscreen to review the ballot and make their choices. The machine will print a list of the candidates chosen. After reviewing votes on the sheet, voters must put their paper ballot into one of the scanners to formally cast their vote and drop it into the ballot box.
Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia has asked the state to allow countywide vote centers — which would let voters cast ballots at any polling place in the county on Election Day — as soon as the November election.
No decision has been announced yet. The deadline for the Secretary of State’s office to approve the request is Sept. 12.
Dozens of Texas counties — including Harris, Ellis, Collin, Hidalgo, Jack, Lubbock and McLennan — already have been approved for countywide vote centers.
Early voting runs from Oct. 21-Nov. 1.