SECTION 81.125. Number of Direct Record Electronic (DRE) Units or Precinct Ballot Counters per Voting Precinct

(a) The county chair shall use the table set out in the following figure to determine the number of precinct ballot counters and DRE units allowable for each precinct.

Attached Graphic

(b) If a county chair determines that the number of precinct ballot counters and/or DRE units authorized under the formula is inadequate, he or she must acquire permission from the SOS to obtain additional machines, counters, or devices.

(c) Pursuant to federal and state law, there must be at least one accessible voting unit in each precinct. If the county has insufficient accessible voting units to allow each party to conduct a separate primary in all county election precincts, then each party will need to consolidate county election precincts in accordance with §42.009 of the Texas Election Code in order to accommodate the number of accessible voting units that can be allocated to each party by the county election officer in accordance with §51.035 of the Texas Election Code. Alternatively, the parties, with the agreement of a majority of the full membership of county commissioners court and the county election officer, may conduct a joint primary under §172.126 of the Texas Election Code.

(d) In precincts that are conducting a limited joint election for purposes of sharing a polling place and an accessible voting unit, the presiding election judge from the party whose candidate for governor received the highest number of votes in the precinct or consolidated precinct in the most recent gubernatorial general election shall deliver the device(s) containing the vote totals to the general custodian. The presiding judge of the party whose candidate for governor received the highest number of votes in the precinct or consolidated precinct in the most recent gubernatorial general election may designate the presiding judge or clerk of the other party to deliver the device(s) containing the vote totals to the general custodian.

Source Note: The provisions of this §81.125 adopted to be effective December 13, 2009, 34 TexReg 8665; amended to be effective March 7, 2012, 37 TexReg 1483; amended to be effective January 9, 2014, 39 TexReg 209; amended to be effective October 29, 2017, 42 TexReg 5853