CLARKSVILLE, Texas, September 4, 2018 – With new voting equipment delivered last week, Red River County officials are looking forward to an efficient and easy-to-use voting system. Earlier this summer, Commissioners approved the purchase of the Verity® Voting system, the most up-to-date election technology available in the United States. County Clerk Shawn Weemes recommended the replacement for older technology, and she is confident that the system from longtime election partner Hart InterCivic is the right choice.
“Red River County has been part of the Hart family since 2005, and we are happy they have chosen Verity for this step forward,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of experience providing election solutions. “Verity’s technology is versatile and trustworthy; it meets the County’s needs today and will meet tomorrow’s needs, too.”
Designed and built in Texas, Verity is certified at the federal and state levels. More than half of the voters in the State cast their ballots on Hart’s voting systems, and Verity is a natural next step for those ready to modernize.
Starting with the November General Election, Red River County voters will hand-mark paper ballots or mark them using the Verity accessible ballot marking device. Ballots are cast by scanning them using the system’s voter-friendly digital precinct scanner. “Our voters like the security of seeing that printed ballot,” Weemes said. “I think they will also appreciate the easy-to-use tablet device.”
Verity’s flexible design will allow options if the County chooses to change to all-electronic voting or Vote Centers in the future. “If our voters want to go to all electronic voting down the road, we already have the technology platform in place with Verity,” Weemes said.
Hart’s excellent customer service also supported Weemes’ decision. “Hart has been good to me. When I was new in this position (2014), they sent a trainer to teach us what we needed. On the next Election Day, they sent hands-on help. They want us to be successful. Plus, they are always just one phone call away.”
Weemes believes poll workers will appreciate Verity’s compact, easy-to-transport design, which will streamline precinct setup on Election Day. “Programming and opening polls will be easier, too. Much less time consuming,” she said.
Red River County in Northeast Texas joins a growing number of Texas jurisdictions moving to Verity. Since the Texas Secretary of State certified the latest release of the system in late 2016, Hart has shipped more than 8,000 Verity devices across the State. Federally certified in 2015, the secure and efficient system is also in use in numerous counties throughout the U.S.
Braithwaite expects more announcements throughout 2018 as jurisdictions refresh their election technology before November’s elections.
Learn more about Verity in Texas: https://www.hartintercivic.com/texas/