Public commenters asked the Collin County Commissioners Court on April 28 to delay action on an ES&S maintenance contract renewal and to reconsider the county’s investment in ballot‑marking devices (BMDs).

Debbie Lindstrom, representing Systems Defending Freedom, told the court that “electronic voting systems have been vulnerable to hackers for a very long time,” and urged the county to consider paper-ballot alternatives so “voters can have faith in the integrity of our elections.”

Avis Novak, who identified herself as opposing "ES&S's contract amendment number 10," said the amendment represents “a 3.5% increase over the previous renewal adding $20,000 to taxpayer expenses.” Novak said firmware, maintenance fees and BMD upkeep were driving costs and questioned security because voters cannot read the machine‑generated barcodes used for tabulation. She added that “since December of 2024 alone the county has paid over $691,000 to ES&S for project management, contractors, ballot creation, coding, machine rentals, van rentals, and printed materials.”

Lee Moore also urged postponement until after the Texas legislative session, telling the court the renewal can wait because the contract does not expire until June and ongoing legislation could change equipment requirements. "Acting before these bills are resolved could commit taxpayer dollars to services that may soon become unnecessary or require modification," Moore said.

After public comment, the Commissioners pulled the ES&S item from the consent agenda for separate consideration. Elections Administrator Caleb Breaux told the court he had spoken with the vendor and did not believe a short delay would harm operations; he said preventative maintenance is normally scheduled in summer and the county could remain within normal planning if approval were postponed. "I don't think so. No, sir," Breaux said when asked if a delay would harm operations.

Commissioners suggested returning the item for consideration the week of June 9 so the court could see which state bills, if any, had passed and whether contract language should be amended to protect the county fiscally if law changes. The court did not approve the contract amendment at the meeting.

Why this matters: Commenters raised security, fiscal and timing concerns about continuing maintenance and use of BMDs. County staff said a short delay is possible without operational harm, and commissioners asked staff to bring the item back for consideration after the legislative session clarity.

Next steps: The ES&S contract renewal item will be taken up separately from the consent agenda at a later date; commissioners suggested a revisit around June 9. The court approved the remainder of the consent agenda at the same meeting (see votes at a glance).