Today, Commissioners Court awarded a nearly $54 million contract to HART for 12,000 InterCivic Verity Voting Systems and equipment for future Harris County elections. HART InterCivic Verity Voting Systems are approved by the Texas Secretary of State and most notably used in Tarrant County. Benefits of of the InterCivic Verity Voting System include a digital touch screen, more accessibility options for seniors and for voters with disabilities, a paper ballot of the voting record for the voter to verify and an easily auditable backend process. The first wave of 2,300 machines will be delivered by March 1st, 2021.
HART InterCivic Verity Voting System
Paper Ballot: A paper copy of your selections which you can verify before submitting your vote into a secure ballot box onsite.
More Security: The collection of paper ballots and triple data back-up enhances security of the machines and allows for easier election audit tracking.
Accessible: Touch screen, ADA accessible controls, compact machines, and screen toggling features emphasizes an easier and faster voting experience
“My commitment to Harris County voters is to provide an open, transparent and accountable voting process –– moving to the HART InterCivic Verity Voting System does just that by giving voters a more accessible, secure and verifiable ballot to improve the voting experience for all Harris County Voters,” said Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria. “My goal is to use the coming weeks to learn and train staff about the HART voting machines and offer all Harris County voters the opportunity to learn more about the new features. We will spend the next couple of weeks evaluating timelines to make sure we are ready for May elections. However, only if my staff feels we can do so while providing the continuity of service, ease, and accessibility that you all as voters expect.”
The decision to procure new voting machines started the fall of 2019, over two administrations, with a tentative goal of rolling out the new machines by May 2021. The County requested vendors to submit bids to meet the goals to modernize and offer more secure voting machines. The machines were selected by a committee of representatives from each Commissioner Court staff, the County Judge, and technical experts from the County Clerk and Elections Administrator staff. You can learn more about the HART InterCivic Verity Voting System by visiting HART InterCivic’s website.
For more information please visit HarrisVotes.com and follow @HarrisVotes on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.