Problems With Statewide Voter Database

The Statesman had an interesting article about the statewide voter database, the Texas Election Administration Management System, which is causing delays in processing voter registration applications:

Across Texas, other counties say they are facing similar difficulties as they adjust to the new Texas Election Administration Management system, a Web-based program the state launched in January to centralize voter registration information.

The system collects basic information about voters — information that must be constantly updated as people reach voting age, die, or change names or addresses. But elections administrators say the system is too slow, and they’re hoping the state fixes the glitches as the May elections approach.

Employees in many counties complain that the system is cumbersome to use and won’t let them correct errors in a new voter file without starting over — and sometimes they have trouble logging on to the system.

They’ve noticed that the system is bogged down the most during business hours. Employees in Tarrant County, the third most populous county in the state, have come to work as early as 5:30 a.m., stayed late or worked weekends to update voter registrations, and the county hired extra temporary workers to help with the backlog, Tarrant County Elections Administrator Steve Raborn said.

The state is aware of the system’s problems and is working to solve them before May elections, said Scott Haywood, spokesman for the Texas secretary of state’s office.

This is very troubling. For one thing, it seems as though it is easier to leave the errors be than correct them, which I suspect some less-than-dilligent employees may be tempted to do. This could ultimately cause a lot of problems when folks show up to vote and find they are in the system in a different manner than they should be.
Of course, SOS Roger Williams tries to downplay things:

“TEAM is not nearly where we want it to be,” Secretary of State Roger Williams said Thursday. But he said he thinks it will eventually set the standard for state voter registration databases.

Evidently, this is just another thing that happens when you make a used car dealer Secretary of State instead of pick someone who might actually be qualified to hold the post. Williams should have already had the bugs fixed with this system.

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