Description:
title
Discussion regarding the purchase a new voting system and other relevant elections information.
body
Comment:
The current Hart Verity voting system we have (Verity ver 2.7) is almost 10 years old. With the Presidential 2028 elections coming up, the timing of acquiring new voting equipment is important. Since we do not want to go into a Presidential election year with equipment that has not been used in a previous election so that voters and staff are unfamiliar with it, there are really only two options: 1) Purchase new equipment in Spring/early Summer of 2027 for first use in either the May Entity elections (assuming the purchase is early in the year) but at the least, the November Constitutional Amendment election and thence in the Presidential Primary elections; or 2) Wait until 2029 to purchase the new equipment to be prepared for the 2030 mid-term election cycle.
Similarly, with the age of the equipment being what it is, there may be some issues associated with any aging electronics. This mid-term election has seen a higher than normal rate of turnout and commensurate issues with the equipment. Higher turnout means more use, which equals more wear-and-tear. Additionally, as the equipment ages, support for the upkeep and maintenance of the equipment will become more difficult. Cranel, the company that provides warranty maintenance support for our central scanners, has notified us that this will be the last year they will service the existing scanners. Hart will also begin phasing out hardware contract support for the Verity system. They will, of course, continue to support on a per-issue basis until parts are exhausted, much like they did for the HVS system.
Additionally, the new security standards published by the EAC (Election Assistance Commission) is VVSG 2.0. Hart is currently the only Texas certified voting equipment manufacturer that is VVSG 2.0 compliant. I would prefer to have the new equipment going into the Presidential election year that is VVSG 2.0 compliant and under full warranty.
Less important but worth consideration is that the equipment weighs about 1/3 of what the Hart Verity systems weigh. This will make it much easier on our election workers.