EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso County Commissioners heard from the company behind the county’s electronic poll pad system Monday after issues during the March primary election caused delays at polling locations across the county.
As previously reported by KFOX14/CBS4, some polling sites experienced problems with electronic poll pads — devices used to check in voters — on Election Day earlier this month. The issues led to delays at voting locations and prompted a judge to order some sites to remain open an extra hour.
Election officials emphasized the problems did not affect the voting process itself.
Jordan Salas reports on Vendor explains El Paso County primary election issues at commissioners meeting (Credit: KFOX14)
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“El Paso County voters and this court deserve a direct explanation,” KNOWiNK Chief Strategy Officer Steele Shipley told commissioners during Monday’s meeting. “What happened on March 3rd fell short of the standard We are sorry and we take full responsibility.”
According to the company, a data configuration issue caused some poll pad devices to miss a required check-in prompt, disrupting the normal sign-in process. The issue was identified and corrected later that morning, after about three and a half hours.
El Paso County Elections Administrator Lisa Wise said the problem was widespread, affecting about 63% of Election Day polling sites.
To keep voting moving, poll workers switched to manual, paper-based check-in procedures — which officials say slowed down lines at some locations.
“We contacted the vendor immediately and contacted all of the affected locations to let them know we were going to be switching to manual check-in,” Wise said.
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Officials said despite the delays, ballot marking devices and tabulators remained fully functional, and all votes were still counted.
Wise added that some voters chose to go to other polling locations or return later due to wait times, though it remains unclear how many voters may have been impacted overall.
In response, KNOWiNK announced it will provide on-site technical support for the next two election cycles at no additional cost to the county. The company said staff will be present during equipment preparation and on Election Day to help verify devices and respond to issues in real time.
Despite the disruption, Wise said the county still considers KNOWiNK the best available vendor.
“So far they have been the best we have and we’re confident that it won’t happen again,” she said, noting there are only a limited number of approved vendors available in Texas.
County officials also said they are reviewing ways to help prevent similar issues in future elections, including allowing more preparation time before polls open.
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