Protect Our State. Protect Our Democracy. Keep Texas Elections Safe

We are a group of concerned citizens who are keenly interested in election security. Currently, some of Texas’ biggest counties – including Tarrant and Harris counties – are signing new contracts for election equipment. Unfortunately, the selection process has been less than transparent, and has left us feeling nervous about the upcoming election. Simply put, there is no way we, as voters, can be comfortable casting ballots on machines we do not trust to keep our votes secure.

Recently, the Tarrant County Elections Administrator’s staff decided to extend the Request For Proposal process for election equipment. Despite the custom being for the RFP process to take 90 days, the Elections Administrator decided to extend the process by an additional 90 days without any explanation, seemingly in an attempt to aid a vendor who was ill prepared the first time around.

That vendor, Hart InterCivic, has not had their machines properly certified, and this move to delay the process by 90 days may have been made in an effort to allow them time for certification. Needless to say, if this is the case, there is no way the public could trust the impartiality of the decision-making process. And we have reason enough to be concerned that the staff of the elections office is making these all important decisions – not elected officials.