Collin County

Keeping the Election Secure, Efficient in Collin County

Fast-growing Collin County is gearing up for the Nov. 8 election.

This part of the Metroplex has seen a 50-percent increase in voters from four years ago.

That means more election workers are needed. They have to be an equal balance of Republicans and Democrats.

The county is conducting 10 training sessions with the ultimate goal of keeping the process secure.

Recent suggestions of a rigged election do not sit well with many of the volunteers being trained at the election center in McKinney.

"I don’t see at all that there is a possibility for any fraud. You have crossed all your Ts and dotted your Is very securely,” said election volunteer Emma Tabley-Stafford.

She joined nearly 50 others for election judge training in Collin County.

They spent Thursday making sure they are up to date on all polling place laws and procedures. And most in the group have lots of experience.

“I’ve worked different capacities as a volunteer, voter register, election judge, election clerk, poll watcher to make sure the elections are run fairly and efficiently,” said volunteer Bill Trible.

Collin County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet rejects accusation that it’s possible to rig the election.

“It is frustrating and I would hate to think that we lose any voters because they don’t believe the system is secure," Sherbet said. "You have a lot of safeguards built into the auditing of the process, of the tracking of the process, and of the physical security of the process. It may not be perfect, but I can tell you it is so decentralized it would be very difficult to do anything on a widespread basis, almost impossible.”

With a nearly 50-percent increase in registered voters in Collin County the focus for these poll workers has become keeping lines short and moving on election day.

“I'm leaving today very sure that I can give you 100 percent service,” said Tabley-Stafford.

Collin County has 73 voting centers so even on election day people can vote anywhere within the county.

And helping those lines is the fact 70 percent vote early.

Early voting begins Monday.

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