Hidalgo County to spend $385,000 to keep providing election equipment to cities

EDINBURG — Elections administrators in several local cities breathed sighs of relief Tuesday after the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court voted to purchase new voting machines.

The decision allows cities and school districts to maintain the election status quo after a bill passed this year limited the county’s ability to rent the machines and made many municipalities consider changing May elections to November.

Texas Senate Bill 100, passed this year, requires military ballots be mailed 45 days prior to Election Day. With added requirements for the shifted timeline, the county would not have enough machines to run local May elections in even-numbered years.

Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Yvonne Ramon said she initially presented to commissioners two weeks ago a cost-effective plan that the county no longer provide the service of leasing voting machines to cities. But commissioners asked for more options.

“We had nightmares trying to decide what is the best way to provide for our cities,” Ramon said.

At a meeting Tuesday morning, Ramon gave commissioners four possible solutions to the problem, including leasing machines to entities that held races at the same time as the November general election, or in May of odd-numbered years. Cities and school boards determined to hold elections in May of even-numbered years would have to buy their own machines.

Commissioners voted instead to purchase about 110 new voting machines to add to the existing 709 and hire five additional full-time employees. The total cost will be $384,950, but the county will still be able to run May elections and lease equipment.

Cities and school boards “are used to us providing this service,” Ramon said. “There were counties throughout the state who said, ‘We don’t have the equipment, we’re not going to do it,’ but that was never an option for us.”

The decision takes the pressure off local municipalities to figure out how to switch their elections.

It’s best for the city “to continue with the lazy option,” said Hilda Pedraza, Pharr’s city clerk.

Pharr’s City Commission will still need to make a decision regarding the election, but if voting machines would be available in May, there is no pressing reason to move the election to November, Pedraza said.

Other cities have already voted to move their elections, anticipating that they would not be able to use county equipment.

The Alton City Commission voted Aug. 9 to switch their elections from May to November, but left a severability clause that City Manager Jorge Arcaute said they might use now.

“I’m surprised,” he said. “I thought the county was looking at a budget crunch that would have prohibited (their buying new machines).”

Arcaute said the city would probably wait a few weeks to make sure everything was in place with the county’s decision before it rescinded the ordinance.

Ramon said the county hadn’t figured out how it would cover the cost of buying the new machines, but said she was meeting Friday regarding the budget.

Other problems that still need to be solved include finding somewhere to store the equipment and finding space for the new personnel.

Technology has shifted away from the voting machines Hidalgo County utilizes, and newer ones are not compatible, so the county needs to buy old refurbished machines and hope they last until it has to replace its entire system.

“As they die out there are no new machines to replace them,” Ramon said. “(But) you choose one (system) or another, so we’re committed.”

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Monitor staff writer Gail Burkhardt contributed to this report.

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Elizabeth Findell covers Pharr, San Juan, Alamo, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.