Burnet County preps for paper ballots
Pictured is a Hart InterCivic paper ballot voting system. Burnet County could transition from its current electronic system to this one by the spring of 2025 to comply with a state law that goes into effect in September 2026. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
Burnet County is preparing to switch to paper ballot voting to comply with a new state law that takes effect in September 2026. Officials are planning for new voting machines in the current budget cycle and hope to implement the paper ballot system by the spring of 2025.
The county hosted a public demonstration of a prospective voting system from Hart InterCivic on Wednesday, June 20, at the AgriLife Extension Office in Burnet. The system allows voters to see their physical ballot and vote with pen and paper rather than electronically like the current system.
Despite the change, Burnet County Elections Administrator Doug Ferguson said the current system is accurate and reliable.
“There’s a small group of people who complain about election integrity,” Ferguson told DailyTrib.com. “They think our equipment is hackable, and they think people can sneak in and adjust votes. These pieces of equipment are not connected to a network and don’t have internet capabilities. Hacking is not possible.”
Ferguson has no complaints about Senate Bill 1, which the Texas Legislature approved in 2021.
“(This change) is the wave of the future,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that think the only real secure way to vote is on paper. It’s kind of trying to satisfy that group of people and still keep it where it works and it’s countable and auditable.”
The Hart system still has an electronic element: a scanner that tabulates the paper ballots. Voters will be handed a printed paper ballot, mark their choices with a pen, and actually see their ballot processed through the scanner.
Even without the new law, using the old machines much longer is not an option, Ferguson said.
“I just can’t imagine anybody really wishing we would have stayed with the old machines,” he said. “Those things are old, and they’ve been around a long time and we need to move forward.”
Burnet County is currently using Hart electronic voting machines purchased in 2005.
To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, all polling locations will still have at least one electronic voting console.
The price tag on the voting machine switch is unknown right now. Burnet County Auditor Karin Smith said the county plans to budget for the new machines for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Workshops on the upcoming budget are underway.