Legislators in Austin are still looking at ways to make sure our elections and voter rolls are secure, and right now, one of the biggest issues seems to be the Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM) System, which is meant to function as the statewide voter roll.
As reported by the Texas Scorecard, lawmakers have been investigating why so many counties are still using third-party systems instead of the TEAM system, which has been undergoing a massive $17 million modernization campaign.
According to Texas State Senator Paul Bettencourt, the short answer is the decades-old platform just isn’t ready. “There has been long-term interest in moving everyone over, but the system has to be ready to handle it, and it’s not,” he said.
Bettencourt went on to say that the primary issue here is making sure it’s able to handle the complexities of Texas’ largest metro areas. He said: “Places like Harris County, which is the size of the 26th largest state, and huge places like the Dallas-Fort Worth area, there’s just a lot of granularity.”
He says making sure the system is ready for prime time has been a top priority for the new Secretary of State, Robert S. Howden, but even with the $17 million revamp that began last summer, it’s still going to be a while before it’s ready. Bettencourt warned that if it’s not ready by the 2028 election, Texas might need to put that contract back up for bid and find a new vendor.
Bettencourt believes that ironing out these issues and creating a reliable statewide voter roll will be a major step forward when it comes to securing and restoring trust in our elections.