1. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
E-Pollbooks in Texas
Christina Worrell Adkins
Texas Secretary of State
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

2. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Texas by the Numbers
E-Pollbooks
254 Counties in Texas
200 Counties using e-pollbooks
7 Different e-pollbook vendors
0 explicit references to e-pollbooks in the Texas Election code.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

3. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Implied References
Countywide Polling Place Program (43.007(d)(3))
Computerized Information in the Polling Place (43.063)
Signature Roster (63.002)
Electronically Readable Information on a Driver’s License ( )
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

4. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Why does this matter?
Sec Official Forms
“Secretary of State shall prescribe the design and content…of the forms necessary for the administration of this code…”
“An Authority having administrative duties under this code shall use an official form in performing the administrative function…”
Official forms
SOS is required to promulgate official forms. SOS required forms MUST be used.
E-Poll books eliminate a lot of these traditional forms.
e-poll books software can replace up to 15 different hardcopy forms or reports.
Problems:
Some vendor can’t generate certain reports – results in entity having to generate outside of epollbooks, hard copy of forms in polling place.
Reports not formatted in accordance with state law
Language on forms not exactly matching.
Lists missing required fields – “former name” “suffix”
Can’t recognize the election name.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

5. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Why does this matter?
Almost all required forms, lists, reports, etc that are REQUIRED under the Texas Election Code are subject to the PIA.
If someone requests a copy of form that you can’t product, you would be in violation of the PIA.
If your form or report is missing information that you are required by state law to have, you might be in violation of the PIA.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

6. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
E-Poll Books in Texas
DRAFT
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

7. Voter Registration Management
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Voter Registration Management
The Official List of Registered Votes -- “OLRV”
Distribution of Lists for Elections
Voter History
Official List of Registered Voters
Voter Registrars are required to prepare an official list of registered voters for each election.
This list is required to contain certain fields.
In order for this list to be utilized and maintained by e-pollbooks for a specific election, the vendors must be able to accept the files from the state in a particular format. Their software must also maintain certain fields that are required by state law – such as “former name” and “suffixes”
Voting History
For general election, primary elections, runoffs or special elections ordered by the governor, state law requires each local voter registrar to electronically submit to the SOS the record of each voter that participated in the election. -- Sec
Must be submitted in a specific format.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

8. Election Administration
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Election Administration
Voter Acceptance Forms
Signature Roster (Section )
Poll List (Section )
Affidavit Of Voter Not On List (Section
Similar Name Affidavit – (Section )
Combination Form (Section )
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

9. Election Administration
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Election Administration
Additional Forms, Reports and Lists
Early Voting Roster (Section )
Restricted Ballot Roster (Section )
Precinct Early Voting List (Section )
Branch Daily Register (Section )
List Of Provisional Voters (Section )
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

10. Electronic Signature Capture Device
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Electronic Signature Capture Device
TAC Rule Use of Electronic Signature Capture Device for Signature Roster
Device must be approved by SOS
Approvals listed on our website
Signature Roster/Combo Form MUST be approved by SOS.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

11. Alternative Procedures
Forms requiring multiple copies
Election official must distribute to the appropriate authority in a timely manner.
Can deliver the forms in hard copy or electronically.
Presiding Judge Acknowledgment Form
New Form
For use on forms that require the PJ’s signature.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

12. Use of Electronically Readable Information Driver’s License
Electronically Readable Information on a Driver’s License ( )
“An election officer may access electronically readable information on a driver’s license or personal identification card for proof of identification when determining whether a voter shall be accepted for voting.”
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

13. Language Requirements
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Language Requirements
Portions of prescribed forms that come into contact with a voter must be translated into Spanish or any other required minority language.
This includes the following forms:
Signature Roster
Poll List
Affidavit of Voter Not on List
Affidavit of Voter with Substantially Similar Name
Combination Form
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

14. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Records Management
Electronic files can be duplicated to another storage medium to meet the retention requirement.
RECOMMENDATION: Minimum of two duplicates of the electronic data stored in a secure manner.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

15. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Contracting
Section of the Code provides:
“only actual expenses directly attributable to an election services contract may be paid from the election services contract fund, and the county election officer may not charge for performing any duties that the officer is required by law to perform.”
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

16. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Contracting
Voter Registration List = No Charge.
If a county can provide VR list in a format that is only accessible through e-pollbooks, then there can be no charge for the use of e-pollbooks.
If VR lists do not require use of e-pollbooks, then county can charge for actual programming costs, but cannot charge for hardware.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

17. Computerized Information in Polling Place
Sec provides:
“In an election in which detailed poll location information is available at a polling place through a computer, an election officer shall provide that information to assist voters in determining the correct polling place location of the voter’s election precinct.”
RECOMMENDATION: configure your e-pollbooks to perform this task.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

18. Internet Connectivity
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Internet Connectivity
Real-time updating of OLRV
Different from Voting System Requirements
Required for Countywide Polling Place Program
RECOMMENDATION: Utilize this feature to ensure accurate voter lists.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

19. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/24/2018
Things to Consider
E-poll books can and should be configurable to your needs.
E-pollbooks can and should be configurable to your state’s requirements.
Not one-size fits all – vendors that I’ve worked with have made it clear that they can make adjustments. Many say it’s easy to make tweaks to their programs --- maybe they are saying it’s easy because they are vendors and are looking to see their product –but regardless, it shows that they can be customized to meet your state’s technical and legal needs.
11/24/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division