Dallas County earmarks $2 million for election equipment, software

Dallas County will spend an estimated $2 million on voting equipment, software and services for the upcoming election.

Each of the county’s polling locations will receive more equipment and require more poll workers than in past elections, staff told commissioners at a Sept. 1 meeting. Additional resources will also be needed to account for the six extra days tacked onto early voting.

Due to an expected uptick in mail-in ballots, staff requested approval of $505,950 for purchases related to new inbound mail sorting machines. This should cut down on the manpower and time needed to sort ballots by hand, according to the agenda documents. Staff also requested $150,000 for new mail-in ballot envelopes that are compatible with the machines.

The sorting machines should be installed near the end of September, just in time for the county to receive its first wave of mail-in ballots, said Toni Pippins-Poole, the county’s election administrator.

“We were finally able to secure one of the last machines the company has in the nation,” she said.

There are about 275,000 county residents who are age 65 or older and eligible to vote by mail. Those who live out of state, overseas or are disabled are also eligible to apply for a mail-in ballot, Pippins-Poole said.

Also included in the county’s invoice is an estimated $458,784 in equipment for curbside voting, which will be available at all vote center locations. An additional $1 million is earmarked for traditional voting equipment, such as ballot marking devices and booths.

For more information on the Nov. 3 election in Dallas County, visit this link.