GEORGETOWN –– Williamson County voters are saying good-bye to electronic voting and returning to hand-marked ballots for the next election.
New voting equipment is being purchased to protect election integrity and to comply with a Trump administration executive order eliminating barcodes on ballots, County Commissioners said during a June 24 session.
Williamson County follows Bastrop, Cameron and Collin counties that have already switched to handmarked ballots.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey, however, expressed concerns on behalf of some constituents about the new ballot-ondemand system, or BOD, eyed by the Williamson County.
“We are going to do our very best to protect the secrecy of everyone’s ballot, and this is a way that we can do that,” said Elections Administrator Bridgette Escobedo.
Commissioners approved a resolution to apply for a 2025 Help America Vote Act Election Security Grant, which will pay $52,000 to cover the purchase of BOD printers, but the cost of the new election systems and software equipment needed in conjunction with the BOD system totals $1.14 million.
Escobedo plans to request the entire amount in the Help America Vote Act grant application and is confident most, if not all, of the total expense will be reimbursed.
In addition, Escobedo estimated the county will also need $300,000 for other voting needs, such as tables, chairs, print toner and voting booths.
“We’re going to try very hard to contain that within our elections budget,” Escobedo said.
With the BOD system, voters will check in at their polling station and a ballot will be printed for them. Voters will be given a pen — not a pencil — to mark their ballots.
In the event of an accidental marking or mistaken vote, Escobedo said voters will be given three chances to receive a new ballot to make corrections.
Currently, the county uses ballot marking devices, known as BMDs, which print ballots with a barcode.
Voters then mark ballots electronically and a machine reads the ballot barcode to tabulate votes.
To comply with the White House directive, Escobedo recommended switching to the BOD system.
