Young County’s new hybrid voting machines
Young County’s new hybrid voting machines

Young County’s new hybrid voting machines

Texas legislators passed HB1708 and SB598, requiring ballot machines to produce a paper ballot. Therefore, Young County would have to have an electronic voting system that creates a voter-verifiable paper record to comply with the law.

Hart Intercivic, a non-partisan company, based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, manufactures the new machines called Verity Duo. The company’s mission, according to verifiedvoting.org, is “to strengthen democracy for all voters by promoting the responsible use of technology in elections.”

The Verity Duo would give Young County voters the necessary tools to vote safely and securely while following the new voting laws. The device is purpose-built for voting and the new regulations.

John Thompson, a representative for Hart Intercivic, was on sight to demonstrate the device and answer questions about the machine and the new law.

“The importance of [the new voting device] is that the voter will be able to review their selections on a piece of paper before casting the ballots,” Thompson said. “After [voters] review their selection, they will have a paper trail to do a recount if you ever need to do a manual recount in a closely contested race.”

For more information about the new voting machines and the company that produces them, please visit their website at hartintercivic.com.