Finding – Harris County Training on Drive-through Voting

election workers. FAD observed that through this combination of training materials, all of the areas assessed were addressed in varying degrees of detail by the counties. The best training materials were those that reiterated the standards promulgated by the Secretary of State and included visual diagrams, checklists, or videos for election workers to fully understand proper procedures.

Finding – Harris County Training on Drivethrough Voting

Harris County provided training materials regarding drive-through voting that appeared to have been generated as early as October 2, 2020. These materials included procedures to be followed during the drive-through voting experience. Each tent at the drive-through voting location was to be equipped with a table, chair, ePollbook, JBC, and DAU. The election workers were instructed that although there was only one voting machine (DAU) per voting station, the DAU had to be assigned to the JBC each morning.

The procedures outlined that the DAU—disabled access unit—was a special eSlate designed for voters with disabilities and to be used for curbside voting. The DAU unit would be used for drive-through voting. According to the training provided: the DAU would sit on a table, be disconnected from the cable connecting it to the JBC, taken to the car, and reconnected after the voter had voted. More specifically, Harris County trained their election workers that:

1. Once the voter has completed their ballot, they will press the red “Cast Ballot” button. A message will read “Reconnect to voting system to record the vote.”

Take the DAU back inside to the voting area and gently reconnect the short cable on the DAU to the long cable of the previous eSlate. If you have to force the connection, it means you don’t have the pins lined up and will likely damage the pins if you don’t adjust the position. When the pins are lined up, you should be able to gently but firmly press the cables together. Once connected, the DAU screen should display the message, “Your vote has been recorded. Thank you for voting. You may now leave the booth.”119

119 DTV_all_Nov2020.