Human error blamed for incorrect votes
BALLOT: Officials say machines not at fault in straight-ticket slip
Some Texas straight-ticket voters, including some in Harris County, have reported voting machines have selected the candidate from an opposing party in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Beto O’Rourke, an outcome election officials say is caused by human error.
Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart insisted Friday that the machines at the county’s 46 early voting locations are secure and functioning properly, but in rare instances straight-ticket voters accidentally can select candidates for whom they do not intend to vote. Stanart said that happens when voters press the button for the straight ticket of their party, but move the wheel to scroll through pages before it finishes loading the straight-ticket request.
Since the U.S. Senate race is the first on the ballot after the straight ticket option, that is the race where voters are most likely to select the incorrect candidate, he said.
“The machines are doing exactly what you tell them to do,” Stanart said. “If you’re sitting there spinning it out, hitting the button repeatedly, it actually has messed up what you’ve done.”
Stanart implored voters to be patient with the Hart eSlate machines, known for their distinctive spinning wheel, and to review ballots carefully before pressing submit. The Texas secretary of state’s office also has acknowledged the voters have complained about the issue in some of the other 79 counties that use the eSlate machines, including Fort Bend, Montgomery and Tarrant counties.
“It does pop up from time to time,” said Sam Taylor, the secretary of state’s communications director. Voters should “double and triple check and slow down,” he said.
The issue is not new. The secretary of state’s office tesified before lawmakers this year that the problem had occurred in the 2016 presidential election.
Harris County voters have reported similar problems with the eSlate machines as far back as 2002. Elections officials in every
instance have attributed the problem to user error.
The Hart eSlate voting machines last were certified in 2009, meaning most of that equipment is at least that old, Taylor said. Upgrading the machines is costly: $50 million would just cover costs to upgrade machines in Harris, Dallas and Tarrant Counties, he said.
“It wouldn’t even put a dent” on upgrading machines statewide, Taylor said.
Mickey Blake of Houston said she voted Tuesday afternoon at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center on West Gray. When she selected the button for the straight Democratic ticket, she said selections appeared for all of the Democrats on the ticket except for the U.S. Senate race, where Cruz was chosen.
“I did it three times,” Blake said. “The last time, I manually changed it and cast my ballot.”
Blake said she told poll workers what had happened, and they replied that they would examine the issue.
Blake said she did not press any additional buttons that Stanart said could cause voters to incorrectly select candidates. She urged voters to double-check their ballots before leaving the booth, and said county and state officials need to develop a better voting system.
“Something needs to be done to have better regulation on what machines we use,” Blake said.
Straight-ticket voting has proven popular. In the 2016 presidential election, two-thirds of Harris County residents selected a straight ticket.
The problem described this week is not expected to last much longer. The Texas Legislature opted to ban straight-ticket voting starting in the 2020 election.
Stanart told the Houston Chronicle in early October if he is re-elected in November, he intends to purchase new voting machines for the county in upcoming years. His opponent, Democrat Diane Trautman, said Harris County should purchase machines that keep paper records, so voters can be assured they selected the correct candidates. Andrea Zelinski contributed to this report.