Tarrant County voters will see a small but significant change to their ballots when they vote in this November’s general election.
On Tuesday, the county’s election board voted four to one to use ballots with pre-printed sequential serial numbers for the upcoming election, reported NBC 5 DFW.
Advocates for the change argue the move will help to secure election results, while opponents dispute the need for additional security and added taxpayer spending, which they call “a waste.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary, and definitely a waste of taxpayer money,” said Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Crystal Gayden, the only member of the election board to vote against the proposal, per NBC 5. “It is not going to reassure in regards to our elections because there hasn’t been a finding that our elections’ integrity is at stake.”
A state audit of the last general election found that Tarrant County held “a quality, transparent election.”
Gayden claimed the change would cost an additional $39,000 for the specially printed ballots, per NBC 5.
Others disagreed with Gayden.
“We had problems with the counts because of the packaged ballots, they were always off,” said Linda Ford, a Tarrant County election judge, referring to the previous voting system, per NBC 5. “And I feel like if we followed the law with the pre-numbered ballots, it would give us a sense of control.”
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said he agrees.
“We want to make sure that people trust the election process, think it’s fair, think it’s transparent,” said O’Hare, per NBC 5. “And this is an extra layer of security that’s going to do that.”
O’Hare also said that only a “set number of ballots” would be available at each polling station, which would make it “easier to audit” and “harder to copy.”
Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Bo French posted on X in support of the change. “This will give another layer of security to our elections. Shockingly the democrats were against it. I wonder why,” he wrote.
DX spoke with French, who said, “Securing our elections is paramount. There have been many changes to the way we vote over the years. We know Democrats want to cheat in elections. This is a step in the right direction. Next up, we desperately need to close our primaries, eliminate countywide voting, and return to precinct voting with physical poll books.”
