Following reports of electronic poll books crashing, the Dallas County Elections Department says the issues have been addressed.
Poll workers made the reports early Monday morning, according to an official statement by the DCED. The complaints involved the poll books software displaying a black screen, which required devices to be restarted. This lagging caused slowdowns as voters were being checked in.
The electronic poll books displayed an error message that also required workers to restart the devices.
Additionally, some poll workers reported the wrong ballot types were being printed for some voters.
The electronic devices were collected from locations that reported issues and sent to Election Systems & Software for review, according to the statement. ES&S analyzed the device logs and confirmed that all voters in Dallas County were assigned to the correct precincts and ballot types.
Around 3:00 p.m., ES&S identified the issue and attributed the software crashes to repeated tapping of on-screen buttons, which overwhelmed the system.
“The issue was caused by the poll book workflow not displaying an indication that the devices were processing information input by the poll workers,” said ES&S in the statement.
In a conference call between ES&S and the Dallas County Elections Department, they discussed implementing a loading screen, which would mitigate continual tapping on screens. This update was agreed on and deployed to all devices Monday evening for the start of Tuesday voting.
“The update allows the poll books to successfully display to the poll worker when the devices are processing information,” ES&S stated. “The indication helps poll workers to avoid repeated touches and slowed performance.”
“It was great to see the large turnout for early voting, but it could have also led to people rushing through and overwhelming the machines,” said Christine Welborn, president of Advancing Integrity. “Voters need to slow down and not rush the machines, which are not as sophisticated as your smartphone. I’m grateful for Dallas County’s quick response to the issue.”
The DCED apologized for long wait times Dallas County voters may have experienced due to the lagging. They also expressed commitment to ensuring a fair and transparent election.
