AUSTIN – Following the Texas Secretary of State's advisory to election officials on October 23, 2018, Secretary Rolando Pablos is issuing additional guidance and information to all voters and election officials in the 78 Texas counties that currently use Hart Intercivic eSlate voting machines.

During the first week of the Early Voting period, the Texas Secretary of State's office was notified of less than 20 instances in which voters in a small handful of these counties expressed concerns about their ballot tabulations. The concerns were raised by voters who cast a straight-party ballot on the eSlate voting machines. To these voters, the machine appeared to deselect or change one or more of their choices when they advanced to the summary page before casting their ballot. In each case, these voters were able to properly review and cast a ballot that accurately reflected the choices they made.

After detailed examination and testing of the Hart Intercivic eSlate machines during the 2016 General Election, the Texas Secretary of State's office and local election officials determined this phenomenon is caused by a voter taking an action on the machine before it has finished rendering all the choices resulting from the voter's straight-party choice. During the 2016 General Election and in subsequent guidance to election officials, the Texas Secretary of State's office provided detailed instruction to election officials and poll workers, as well as proper signage in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin (PDF) to election officials in each of these counties to remind voters to carefully review their summary screens before casting their ballot.

It is important for all voters in the 78 Texas counties utilizing the Hart Intercivic eSlate to understand that the voting machines are not malfunctioning, nor are they arbitrarily "switching" the choices of voters who cast a straight-party ballot.

Moreover, the Secretary of State’s office has observed a disturbing trend where misinformation is being spread regarding the scale and the impact of these reported instances. This has the potential consequence of raising unnecessary alarm about the integrity of Texas’ voting systems and discouraging eligible Texas voters from casting their ballots.

Secretary Pablos issued the following statement re-emphasizing the fact that county election officials are properly performing their duties and have been properly advised and trained to assist Texas voters casting ballots on Hart Intercivic eSlate voting machines:

"Election officials across the state of Texas are there to help all voters to ensure that every single choice they make up and down their ballot will be properly reflected before they cast their ballot and make their voice heard in this General Election. No one is more committed to ensuring the integrity of Texas' elections than the statewide and local officials who are responsible for administering those elections. The Secretary of State's office has worked diligently to foster an environment of trust and confidence which can unfortunately be eroded by misinformation, false narratives, and bad-faith accusations.

"Texans know better. Each eligible Texas voter heading to the polls during this final week of Early Voting and on Election Day can rest assured that their vote will be cast and counted exactly as they intended. My office is working every day to address the myriad issues that can arise during each election and ensure that local election officials take the proper steps to instruct, guide, and assist voters when they head to the polls. Texans are going to make their voices heard, and the State of Texas is committed to assisting all voters in doing so.

I hereby ask all Texans to pass along this message to their friends, neighbors, and families in order to help stop the rampant dissemination of misinformation, which is unduly causing great consternation for Texas voters and eroding trust in our election system."

Secretary Pablos issued the following guidance to voters and has instructed county election officials to amplify these tips for voters casting ballots in the 78 Texas counties that have chosen to employ Hart Intercivic eSlate voting machines in their elections:

When voting a straight-party ballot, wait at least 3-5 seconds for all choices to be rendered on the eSlate voting machines. Counties in which voters have longer ballots may require additional time to allow the screens to load fully.

Once all the candidate choices for that particular party have been fully loaded, take your time to slowly review each choice in each race before advancing to the next screen.

When advancing to the next screen, be sure the screen is fully loaded before scrolling through to the subsequent pages.

Once you have reached the summary page, carefully review each choice listed to ensure the candidate selected is, in fact, the candidate for whom you wish to cast your vote.

If you find that one or more of your choices are displayed incorrectly on the summary page, hit the 'PREV' button and choose the candidate for whom you wish to cast your vote.

If any issues persist, ask for assistance from a poll worker at your polling location, and the pollworker will ensure that the machine is working properly and advise you on the proper steps to take to cast a ballot with only the candidates of your choosing.

As an additional resource in order to ensure that voters are able to operate the machines effectively, voters casting their ballots on eSlate voting machines can take a test run of a simulated eSlate voting machine with an interactive online application available by visiting VoteTexas.gov.

Below, please find a list* of Texas counties that currently use Hart Intercivic's eSlate electronic voting machines in their elections. If you are voting in these counties, please make sure you ask the election officials at the polling sites for assistance, if needed:

Archer

Bandera

Bee

Brazos

Brown

Burleson

Burnet

Cass

Castro

Cherokee

Coke

Comal

Comanche

Coryell

Crosby

Culberson

Dawson

Deaf Smith

Delta

Dickens

Duval

Ector

Falls

Fannin

Foard

Fort Bend

Galveston

Gray

Gregg

Grimes

Hale

Hardin

Harris

Harrison

Hays

Henderson

Hudspeth

Hunt

Jefferson

Jim Hogg

Jim Wells

Karnes

Kenedy

Kerr

Kimble

La Salle

Lampasas

Liberty

Lipscomb

Llano

Marion

Martin

Matagorda

McCulloch

McLennan

Menard

Mills

Montgomery

Motley

Nacogdoches

Parker

Rains

Roberts

Runnels

Shackelford

Tarrant

Taylor

Throckmorton

Tom Green

Travis

Upshur

Uvalde

Wheeler

Wichita

Wilbarger

Willacy

Wise

Wood

*NOTE: Floyd, Reagan, Red River, and Refugio counties upgraded to Hart Verity voting machines right before the 2018 General Election and are no longer using Hart eSlate voting machines.

Texas voters can always visit www.votetexas.gov or call 1-800-252-VOTE (8683) for more information on voting in the State of Texas.

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