The Dallas County Elections Department has successfully resolved a ballot programming issue that impacted the City of Richardson’s ballot. As of late this morning, all 61 Early Voting Centers in Dallas County are operating with the corrected ballot.
The issue, identified on April 22, was due to a programming error that mistakenly displayed the unopposed City Council Places 1–4 as single-member districts.
This caused Richardson voters to see the Mayor, Place 6, and only one of the four unopposed races, depending on their home address. In reality, all City Council Places (1–6) and the Mayor are elected at-large and should appear on every Richardson voter’s ballot.
Once the issue was identified, Dallas County Elections staff acted promptly. Teams worked overnight to reprogram ballots and update voting equipment at all early voting locations. A public test of the corrected ballot was successfully completed late last night, and updates to all early vote centers began after polls closed and were completed early this morning.
Throughout the process, the Elections Department worked closely with the City of Richardson to keep officials informed and to coordinate a timely and effective resolution.
Voters who cast ballots before the correction was implemented were still able to vote in the contested Mayor and Place 6 races. Their votes will be counted; however, they are not eligible to recast a corrected ballot in the uncontested races for Places 1–4.
“We appreciate voters’ patience and the City of Richardson’s partnership during this process,” said Elections Administrator Heider Garcia in a statement. “The Dallas County Elections Department remains committed to conducting elections that are fair, accurate, secure, and transparent for all voters.”
