BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – New technology ensuring greater accessibility for the deaf community and an expedited check-in process is coming to future Bexar County elections.
On Tuesday, Bexar County commissioners approved the purchase of 1,100 poll pads, which will serve multiple aspects of the voting process, including curbside access, according to agenda documents.
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Bexar County is purchasing the equipment from KNOWiNK, described on its website as the “leading provider of electronic poll books.”
The poll pads will replace county-provided laptops, which currently require two poll workers to help operate a single device.
“These tablets, with proprietary software, will serve all voters and help streamline polling site check-in,” Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said. “The equipment will also be used for curbside voting and deaf-accessible voting.”
Sakai said every tablet will be equipped with software provided by DeafLink, meaning every polling site will have a device to accommodate the deaf community.
The county has been in partnership with DeafLink for some time, according to Bexar County Elections Administrator Michele Carew.
Last October, ahead of the November presidential election, Bexar County announced the partnership with DeafLink. Five precincts across San Antonio were equipped with the technology, which included sign language interpreters.
There was initially conversation about expediting the implementation of the services for the June 7 runoff election for San Antonio mayor, which drew concern from Precinct 2’s Justin Rodriguez and Precinct 3’s Grant Moody.
“My support for this item would be predicated on ensuring that we don’t try to enforce the issue in the next like two weeks,” Moody said.
In an emailed statement on Wednesday, Carew said the rollout would be postponed to the November primary to “guarantee a smooth and efficient election process and to avoid any complications stemming from insufficient training.”
Carew said the current county laptops, operating under a four-year replacement cycle, reached their operational lifespan last November.
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