Bexar County Says Its Voting Machines Are Working as Early Voters Report Selections Changing
Election officials say the equipment is tested, sealed and kept off the internet, an expert says touchscreen sensitivity is the likely explanation, and Bexar's early-vote total reached 256,946 through Sunday.
Bexar County election officials are assuring voters that the county's voting machines are functioning properly during early voting, after voters raised concerns that machines appeared to change their selections, KTSA reported Monday, citing calls and emails received by KENS 5 following ballot issues reported during the first week of early voting. The Bexar County Elections Office said last week that its machines are functioning properly and that no system is in place to change votes, according to KTSA.
The San Antonio Current reported that KSAT had documented at least three instances in which early voters alleged Bexar County machines switched their choices — at the Converse Community Events Center, Wonderland of the Americas and Macedonia Baptist Church — and that in all three reported incidents the voters said their selections changed from Democratic candidates to Republicans. Emily French, policy director for Common Cause Texas, told reporters on a press call that such a scenario is highly unlikely and that apparent changes most likely stem from touchscreen sensitivity. “The machines are not switching your ballot,” French said, as reported by the Current.
Bexar County Elections Administrator Michele Carew reiterated in a Friday statement that the county's equipment is secure, and said her office is responding to complaints and communicating with the machines' manufacturer to determine whether any action is needed, the Current reported. “If a printed ballot appears not to match a voter’s intended choices, the voter should notify a poll worker immediately,” she said. KTSA reported the elections office's security measures: machines are tested to verify they work correctly, the equipment is sealed and tracked, the machines are kept disconnected from the internet during voting, and the office plans its own audit after the election to help verify the results.
The questions come in the middle of a heavy early vote. Texas Secretary of State county files, tallied in a NewsCubby tracker updated Monday morning, show 256,946 ballots cast in Bexar County through Sunday, Oct. 25, out of 4,394,304 statewide — 4,192,368 in person and 201,936 by mail. Early voting runs 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 30, and polls reopen on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters who believe their right to vote is being infringed upon may call 866-OUR-VOTE, the Current reported.
