Burnet County locks in new paper-based voting system after first test
Burnet County officials reported a successful spring election season using the new Hart InterCivic voting system, which is now officially approved for countywide use. Courtesy photo
With the successful debut of Hart InterCivic’s paper-based ballot equipment during the spring city and school elections, Burnet County has officially adopted the voting system for future use.
The Burnet County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the Hart Verity Ballot on Demand 2.7 system during its meeting Tuesday, May 13. The decision satisfies procedural state election law and a statewide 2026 deadline to have all Texas counties switch to a ballot system with a voter-verified paper trail.
Voters in Marble Falls, Burnet, Granite Shoals, and Cottonwood Shores used the system during the May 3 local elections. With the switch official, the equipment will be in place for the spring 2026 primaries and November 2026 general election at polling sites countywide.
“We just completed our first election with the new paper ballot system that we have, and the election went really well,” Burnet County Elections Administrator Doug Ferguson told the Commissioners Court on Tuesday. “It was fast and furious at the beginning, but it came out really well.”
Ferguson explained that he and his crew had to learn the new system in the midst of the election, but the results were accurate. Three of the races—MFISD Board of Trustees Place 1, Granite Shoals mayor, and Cottonwood Shores City Council Place 2—all had to be recounted by hand and matched the system’s tally.
“There was a manual paper hand count for three races, and it all came back the way the machine said, so this is really the best of both worlds,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle.
Voters using the Hart equipment manually mark ballots that are then scanned by a machine and tallied. The physical paper ballots are kept as a backup in case a recount is needed.
The Commissioners Court’s decision is a long time coming, with the Hart voting system first being considered during a public demonstration in June 2024. A town hall on the machine switch was held in February of this year to brief the public on the change and address concerns about election integrity.