Collin County commissioners voted on June 23, 2025, to purchase the equipment needed to transition the county’s in-person voting system to hand-marked paper ballots. Commissioners gave initial approval for the switch earlier this month.
The final estimated cost of this transition is approximately $2.3 million, Collin County Elections Administrator Kaleb Breaux confirmed to Local Profile.
New Voting Procedures
Under the new system, voters will receive a printed paper ballot and mark their choices by hand. These ballots will still be counted by optical scanners, with audits conducted afterward to ensure accuracy.
“Although the county has utilized machine-marked paper ballots for many years, citizens have advocated for hand-marked paper ballots, claiming that they are more secure than the machine-printed ballots that rely upon bar codes that can’t be verified by voters,” Collin County Judge Chris Hill said in an official statement.
Monday’s approval marks a turnaround after two previous attempts by Judge Hill to adopt hand-marked ballots failed due to a lack of support. Motions in August and September 2024 did not pass because they lacked a second.
The decision aligns with Executive Order 14248, issued by President Trump. The order prohibits voting systems from using barcoded ballots to count votes, except when necessary to accommodate voters with disabilities.
Concerns and Opposition
Not everyone supports the change. The Collin County League of Women Voters and the Texas Civil Rights Project sent a letter to county commissioners urging them to reconsider. They warned that hand-marked ballots might lead to long lines, increased human error and diminished trust in elections.
“We seek to remind the county of its obligations to uphold the highest standards of transparency and public engagement in its decision-making processes, particularly when the abrupt transition to hand-marked ballots will cause voter confusion and come at great expense to taxpayers,” the letter stated.
Despite the opposition, Collin County voters can expect to see the new ballots in the upcoming November election.
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