Low Voting Machine Turnout

Here's a good reason not to use electronic voting machines: You don't have any. But even that won't stop Harris County from using Hart InterCivic eSlate machines. On Aug. 27, a fire wiped out Harris County's entire stock of eSlates, seemingly putting election officials up the ship channel without a paddle. However, other jurisdictions are coming to the rescue, including Travis County – Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said her office has sent 250 machines to Houston to help bail Harris out. Travis County Elections Division spokeswoman Mary Fero says that shouldn't worry voters here – Travis still has about 2,000 machines. "Turnout in the past two gubernatorial races has been around 41 percent," Fero says. "We always hope for more, but previous voting patterns indicate we should be able to serve citizens well. If anyone has concerns about being able to fit voting into their schedule on election day, we always encourage them to take advantage of the 12 days of early voting." Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2; early voting runs Oct. 18-29.