In another recent development surrounding voting integrity in Texas, state officials have investigated the voting machines in Dallas County to ensure they are operating correctly and meet all necessary certification standards.
This investigation follows concerns raised by the Dallas County Republican Party about the reliability of the voting machines.
The controversy began when the Dallas County GOP released a statement on Friday outlining alleged issues with the voting machines, which they claimed were observed during recent testing. The party chair, Allen West, spoke to the need for a credible audit of the machines, calling for immediate action from state authorities, including the Secretary of State and Att. Gen. Ken Paxton.
“We again call on the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Dallas County Elections Administrator to adhere to the Election Code tabulations, credibly enforce Texas election laws, use the authority they have been granted by the Legislature to protect Dallas County voters, and cause to be created a credible audit trail so that voters can have confidence in the declared election results,” West wrote.
Paxton responded to the GOP’s concerns over the weekend, stating that his office has been diligently working to investigate the voting machines in question. He also referred to “limited failed tests” of the machines but urged the public to trust the official examinations that concluded the machines were functioning correctly.
“The OAG has been aware of limited failed tests of voting machines in Dallas County and has been on the ground investigating these issues alongside the Secretary of State’s office. Dallas County voters must have complete assurance that their voting machines will work properly when early voting begins,” Paxton posted via X.
“The DCRP’s press release on this issue is premature and contains several inaccuracies. My office is continuing to investigate this issue. A report from the Secretary of State’s office is forthcoming,” Paxton added.
Dallas County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia also weighed in, asserting that the findings from the Secretary of State’s examination match the confirmed functionality of the voting machines.
“We need to start voting on Monday, so we need to be focused on what we need to do for that. We’ve provided plenty of time and effort and resources to accommodate and address concerns,” Garcia told The Dallas Morning News.
“The Dallas County Elections Department strives to be transparent in all processes. For example, in public tests, we add a Public Verification Day, not required by law, and invite people to come and test the systems themselves. We have also launched an Open Records Initiative, releasing hundreds of thousands of election records proactively without requiring a public information request,” Garcia told The Dallas Express.
“And just this week, we conducted a top-to-bottom demonstration of our election systems for Texas State Senators Hall, Parker, West, and Johnson, along with representatives from both political parties. These actions, which exceed state requirements, demonstrate our commitment to radical transparency and a secure voting process,” he added.
A heightened concern for voter integrity has been a focus for Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott in the past few months.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, In late August, Abbott announced via press release that Texas had successfully purged more than one million ineligible voters from its registration lists since 2021.
Additionally, earlier this month, Paxton asked Secretary of State Jane Nelson to provide documentation regarding registered voters who do not possess Texas-issued identification numbers. The request is part of an ongoing initiative to identify and investigate possible instances of noncitizen voting and other forms of voter fraud within the State, as previously covered by DX.
In a letter published on October 2, Paxton expressed concerns regarding Texas officials’ ability to verify the citizenship status of certain registered voters.
“Every election official in the State must join me in prioritizing this. Our State and our Country are counting on you to do everything possible to expedite transparency and accountability to secure our elections and make sure noncitizens do not illegally vote,” Paxton said via press release.