1 2 3 4 5 6 KERR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT 7 Workshop 8 Tuesday, April 19, 2005 9 3:30 p.m. 10 Commissioners' Courtroom 11 Kerr County Courthouse 12 Kerrville, Texas 13 14 15 16 17 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Listening Tour 18 19 20 21 22 PRESENT: PAT TINLEY, Kerr County Judge 23 H. A. "BUSTER" BALDWIN, Commissioner Pct. 1 WILLIAM "BILL" WILLIAMS, Commissioner Pct. 2 24 DAVE NICHOLSON, Commissioner Pct. 4 25 ABSENT: JONATHAN LETZ, Commissioner Pct. 3 2 1 On Tuesday, April 19, 2005, at 3:30 p.m., a workshop of 2 the Kerr County Commissioners Court was held in the 3 Commissioners' Courtroom, Kerr County Courthouse, Kerrville, 4 Texas, and the following proceedings were had in open court: 5 P R O C E E D I N G S 6 JUDGE TINLEY: Why don't we come to order, if 7 we might, please. We had a workshop scheduled, or kind of a 8 little training session for Help America Vote Act scheduled 9 for 3:30 today. It's a little past that now. We're 10 privileged to have with us today our Secretary of State, the 11 State of Texas, Mr. Roger Williams, and let me give you a 12 little info about him. This -- this guy comes from every 13 direction imaginable. Probably more recently, he's -- I'll 14 tell you, he's been in the automobile business, been 15 involved in one of the strongest auto dealerships in the 16 country; that's the Roger Williams Auto Mall in Weatherford, 17 and he's also affiliated with Vestry Financial in Fort 18 Worth. He also is a rancher, so we can relate to that. 19 Operates ranches under the name of Roger Williams Ranches. 20 But probably of more lesser known note, he was a pretty 21 doggone good baseball player -- and I'm a little 22 disappointed our Brother Letz could not be with us here, but 23 he played for T.C.U., and even played professional ball with 24 the Atlanta Braves. And after completing that, why, he 25 returned to the state of Texas and was a coach at the -- of 4-19-05 3 1 the Horned Frogs baseball team before going into all these 2 other various ventures, as well as into public service. And 3 we're tickled to death to have him here today with us, and 4 it's our pleasure and honor for you to be here. 5 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Thank you, Judge. It's 6 my honor to be here. I must tell you, you were kind with 7 that introduction, but my wife does all the work; I get all 8 the credit. You know how that goes, Buster, right? 9 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I do. 10 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Buster told me he's 11 fourth generation, and his wife's fifth generation, so 12 that's great. Congratulations. 13 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Thank you, sir. 14 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: It's good to be here. 15 And I want to tell you that we didn't just pick your county 16 to come to. We -- we're coming to this county because you 17 all do things right, and as we go across with this listening 18 tour that I'm on, we want to be able to say you all are on 19 board as we go across Texas. I appreciate you having us. 20 We are on a statewide listening tour in reference to the 21 Help America Vote Act, and this thing's a big deal, and it's 22 expensive. And I'm here to visit with you today about some 23 questions you may have, give you some answers, maybe ask you 24 all some questions. By the end of the day, making sure that 25 my -- and I have told the governor and I have told the 4-19-05 4 1 federal government they can count on Texas; that 2 January 1st, we will be totally completed in the Help 3 America Vote Act program. They will not have to worry about 4 us. 5 I feel that probably other states might have 6 some problems, but I think I've come up with a program, 7 Judge, that's going to eliminate problems from Texas and let 8 Texas do what they do best, and that's being Texans. And, 9 so, I want to talk to you about that. All of you know it's 10 a federal mandate. I don't know -- I don't know how you all 11 feel about it, but I'm not that big on federal mandates, but 12 it is what it is. So, that being said, we've got to -- 13 we've got to proceed. I also want you to know that, as you 14 mentioned briefly, I do come from a retail background. I'm 15 a small businessman, and I understand services, and I know 16 who my customers are, and my customers are you all. And 17 this office, as Secretary of State, is going to take care of 18 you. We're going to give you service. We're going to hold 19 your hand when you need it, and I want you to hold my hand 20 when I need it done, but at the end of the day, we'll make 21 it all work. 22 As I have been going across Texas and talking 23 to your peers and people that are going to be implementing 24 HAVA, I've come across two issues that I think are the 25 biggest issues that need to be addressed, that I want to 4-19-05 5 1 address, that I've heard from -- from your peers, and that 2 is an issue of what I call standards. I have a real concern 3 that the federal government's asking you all to spend a lot 4 of money on equipment, yet nobody has told you what kind of 5 standards it needs to meet. They haven't set the standards 6 out, but we want you to, Judge, buy this equipment. That's 7 a problem here. The other issue is cash flow, which we all 8 understand cash flow. There's a lot of counties in the 9 state of Texas very, very concerned about cash flow; 10 they're, frankly, not going to be able to have the money to 11 implement HAVA. 12 Again, as a small businessman, I understand 13 cash flow as good as anybody. I can tell you every banking 14 holiday there is, Buster, 'cause that means I don't have to 15 make a deposit that day, and I think you all are about the 16 same way. So, that being said, about 30 days ago, Judge -- 17 I'm not sure if you've got it yet, but I asked my office to 18 send you a best practice contract, a model contract that 19 outlines some issues I think you need to address when you go 20 to begin your -- your journey to buy your equipment. And I 21 talked to the vendors, and in this best practice model, 22 there's a lot of legalese, but there's two issues you need 23 to look at when you go to make your deal. It addresses 24 standards and it addresses cash flow. The standards issue 25 is addressed in this best practice model or best practice 4-19-05 6 1 contract with the vendors, which I have asked them -- I have 2 told them that they must guarantee your equipment when you 3 buy it today; that when they come out with standards 4 tomorrow or the next day, that your equipment will meet 5 federal standards. They must guarantee that. They have 6 agreed to do that. So, that being said, that handles your 7 issue on standards. 8 The other issue is the cash flow issue, and 9 I've addressed that by asking them -- telling them, and 10 they've agreed, that when you do make your purchases, that 11 you are to invoice my office. We then will -- within 30 12 days or earlier, we will -- we will send you what money we 13 can, and I'll talk about that today -- what money we can to 14 offset any deficiencies you have, and then you will pay the 15 vendor. So, you're not going to have to pay them until I 16 pay you. They've agreed to that, too. So, again, standards 17 will be guaranteed by the vendor. Cash flow, you invoice 18 me, I pay you, you pay them, and we'll get the money to you 19 within 30 days or less. So, as you embark upon this, you 20 won't have to -- you're not going to have to remind them. 21 They've agreed to do it. 22 It's a big deal. Time is of the essence. 23 The law says that every precinct in America must have at 24 least one of these disabled-friendly machines. I have also 25 told them that sometimes Texans forget that there's other 4-19-05 7 1 states in the union, and I sometimes forget that. And I 2 expect them to take care of Texas first, and they've agreed 3 to do that. So, it's a huge ramp-out, but we've got the 4 vendors that understand the rules of the game we're going to 5 play in Texas. It's in the model contract. And, so, with 6 that being said, I'm here to bring you some money, Judge. 7 And I don't know how much money you're expecting. I know 8 you've drawn down on a little bit. But let me tell you my 9 goal before I tell you what I've brought you. My goal is to 10 have all 254 counties in the state of Texas have to worry 11 about two things, purchasing equipment and getting their 12 people trained. I don't want -- I don't want you to have to 13 worry about money. And I've come up with what I think is 14 the best plan in America, and it's working. And I don't 15 know; when I get to the 254th county, I may be out of money. 16 I may call you. But until then, I think you're going to 17 like this plan. 18 So, with that being said, I've brought to you 19 today, Judge, $294,755, and I believe that's going to cover 20 all your needs, and I hope that also you will have money 21 left over. If you have money left over, that is your money 22 to be used in anything that's HAVA-related, with no statute 23 of limitations to use it. So, the only thing I'm telling 24 you is -- I'm going to tell you what I told the judge in 25 another county the other day. He said, "Can we buy a 4-19-05 8 1 tractor with this?" You cannot buy a tractor with this, 2 Judge, okay? But -- but the $294,000, I think, is probably 3 more than you thought you were going to get, and it should 4 cover the expenses that you probably perceive as the 5 shortfall that you're going to have. So, best program in 6 America. You can thank your Secretary for it; I went to bat 7 for you. You can thank your governor for it; he went to bat 8 for you. And we'll -- we will be the model, I think, that 9 the rest of the country follows. So, with that in mind, do 10 you have any questions I might be able to answer? 11 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: When do we get the 12 money? 13 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: I've got it today for 14 you. 15 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Good. 16 JUDGE TINLEY: That's plenty quick. 17 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: And -- 18 JUDGE TINLEY: Another question. Recently we 19 were at a conference, and they indicated that the approved 20 vendors for this equipment -- there was a hope that by the 21 end of April, that we would have the approved state 22 contracts for each of those vendors. Where are we? 23 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, we've got the four 24 -- okay, go ahead. 25 MS. SUTTON: We have four certified vendors, 4-19-05 9 1 Judge, one of which has a contract with S.B.P.C., which is 2 the contract that you're talking about, as far as purchasing 3 agreement. The other three are negotiating directly with 4 them. We still expect that. As far as we know and what 5 we've been told, we're still on track with -- at the end of 6 this month, we expect all four vendors to -- to be on board 7 with that. 8 JUDGE TINLEY: So, each of the approved 9 vendors, hopefully by the end of the month, we'll be able to 10 -- to look at them, and we won't be in a position where 11 we'll have to go through an entire bid process. We'll be 12 able -- 13 MS. SUTTON: Right. 14 JUDGE TINLEY: -- to go straight on state 15 contract? 16 MS. SUTTON: Yes, sir, that is our hope. 17 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: We're going to keep it 18 simple. But my only -- I do want to reemphasize the fact 19 that time is of the essence. And as you start your beauty 20 contest or whatever with these vendors, I'd get going on 21 that, with the idea that -- well, you'll see from the 22 contracts we sent you that standards are guaranteed. Cash 23 flow is not going to be a problem. 24 JUDGE TINLEY: Another question. Recently we 25 heard about a supplemental funding allowance. The funds 4-19-05 10 1 that you're bringing us today, that includes the basic and 2 the supplemental? Or just the basic? 3 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, go ahead. 4 MS. SUTTON: I'm sorry. That includes both, 5 Judge. 6 JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. 7 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Yeah, you've got the 8 basic. Now you've got the supplemental. 9 JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. 10 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: It's a good program. 11 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: 294 what? 12 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: 294,755. That 755 is 13 your profit. 14 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: The -- 15 JUDGE TINLEY: You'll finally make out, won't 16 you? 17 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I choked on the 294 18 and couldn't hear the rest of it. 19 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: 755, yes, sir. 20 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay. 21 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Any other questions? 22 Well, with that being said, I've got the money for you. And 23 let me tell you how we're going to treat this, Judge, 24 Commissioners. I've got -- you've got an account with us 25 down in Austin of this amount of money, and we're going to 4-19-05 11 1 treat it as a drawing account. And as you get your 2 invoices, you send them to us, and we're going to draw it 3 right down until it's zero. And, like I say, I believe and 4 I hope that you have some money left over that you can spend 5 on other HAVA-related things. But there's no statute, so 6 we'll carry that money in your drawing account until you -- 7 until you use it up. 8 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: How would you define 9 "HAVA-related"? 10 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, okay. 11 HAVA-related -- and I'm not going to hit on all of it, but 12 it could be -- it's training, it's more equipment. Really, 13 that's what it's about, is training and more equipment. I 14 had some people ask me, "Can we buy a van to take people to 15 and from?" You can't buy a van. Someone asked me, too, 16 "Can we put ramps in?" Can't put ramps in. But anything 17 that's going to be HAVA-related to this federal mandate will 18 be -- you know, we will pay, or this money can be used for. 19 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Eligible expense. 20 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Yes, sir. And no 21 tractors. Any other questions? 22 MR. TOMLINSON: I have a question. 23 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Yes, sir? 24 MR. TOMLINSON: Originally, we talked about 25 submitting a budget -- 4-19-05 12 1 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm. 2 MR. TOMLINSON: -- for the HAVA funds. Is -- 3 is that still required? 4 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, you've got this 5 amount of money on deposit, and you can use it as you see 6 fit. And as far as -- as far as a budget, I mean, this is 7 your money we're giving you. That's your budget. And you 8 can -- like I say, you can use it any way you want to that's 9 related to HAVA. 10 MS. SUTTON: And the way -- with the 11 additional funds -- excuse me, Mr. Secretary. With the 12 additional funds, what will happen is we will send out to 13 you -- the second pot of money is new for you all, and it's 14 new for everybody. And so what we will do is send out an 15 amended contract. Have -- you all have already filed your 16 HAVA agreement with us? 17 MR. TOMLINSON: Yes. 18 MS. SUTTON: Okay. You will be getting an 19 additional -- a supplemental one so you can start drawing 20 down your funds. 21 MR. TOMLINSON: Well, the way I -- in the 22 original conversation with -- with your office, our -- I 23 recall that -- that there's an online budget process. 24 MS. SUTTON: Right. 25 MR. TOMLINSON: That when -- when you request 4-19-05 13 1 a draw-down, you submit that budget online. Now that that's 2 finalized, that's the reason for my question. 3 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: I got you. 4 MR. TOMLINSON: If you just -- if we need to 5 actually send you a budget or we just need to send you an 6 invoice. 7 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Right now, the way I 8 think we've got it structured, send us the invoice. 9 MS. SUTTON: Well, you'll -- we will send out 10 very specific information with the exact amount that you're 11 getting, which is what the Secretary is talking about, and 12 then you will go online again and amend your version of it. 13 But you can start submitting invoices now. Have you all 14 already bought equipment? 15 MR. TOMLINSON: No. 16 MS. SUTTON: Okay. You can start submitting 17 invoices now. Not only will it pay for a D.R.E. per polling 18 place -- or per precinct, excuse me, but it will also pay 19 for, like, education, going to various conferences, you 20 know, being educated about HAVA, as well as educating your 21 election judges and clerks and -- and community about 22 D.R.E.'s. 23 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: And the money is flowing 24 now. We've already had some counties that are starting to 25 draw on it. And I say 30 days, but we've had some -- we've 4-19-05 14 1 been able to respond in about 16 or 17 days, haven't we, 2 Kim? 3 MS. SUTTON: Yes, sir. 4 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: But they understand that 5 -- that they're not going to be paid anything till you get 6 the money from us. 7 MR. TOMLINSON: Okay. 8 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: The minimum standards 9 that we have to -- have to accommodate now is at least one 10 of these -- 11 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: One per precinct. 12 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: -- per voting 13 precinct? 14 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Yes, sir. 15 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's the minimum? 16 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: That's it. That meets 17 the standards. 18 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Are there any -- is 19 this amount of funding that you've provided us, is it 20 possible that we could obtain more than one per precinct? 21 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, if -- you 22 know, there are some counties that are -- that are going to 23 use whatever excess funds they may have to buy another 24 machine or whatever, whatever works. So, you're free to do 25 whatever you want. But this is what we -- we -- you have a 4-19-05 15 1 drawing account that will pay -- that will pay to meet the 2 mandate. Now, anything that you do over that would be an 3 expense, but you all, of course, will decide on how you -- 4 how you handle that. But the mandate is one per voting 5 precinct. 6 JUDGE TINLEY: We really appreciate your 7 efforts in trying to boil this thing down and -- and get it 8 to its simplest, most compact form where it's, in essence, 9 pretty much a no-brainer for us. You've got it set up, and 10 all we've got to do is get into the -- into the pipeline and 11 get moving. 12 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, as you said, I 13 need to remind you I went to T.C.U., so it needs to be 14 simple. And, so -- but it is -- it is a good program. All 15 you have to do now is select your vendor, train your people, 16 send your invoices in, we'll pay you, and we're done with 17 it, and Texas has led the way and we can get on with other 18 things. But I do believe that, even though it is a federal 19 mandate, this is the right thing for Texas to do. This is 20 the compassionate thing for Texas to do, and it will -- it 21 will work fine. It will work fine. 22 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge? 23 JUDGE TINLEY: Yes, sir? 24 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Couple of things. 25 First of all, you remember what mother said about the 4-19-05 16 1 government bringing you free money. But more importantly, I 2 think, is we have some good friends from Atascosa County 3 here, and I wanted to -- certainly, they can feel free to 4 get in part of the question and answers as well. 5 JUDGE TINLEY: Judge Bautista, did you or 6 your people have any questions of the Secretary? I -- 7 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: We're going to have a 8 little meeting with them, too. 9 JUDGE TINLEY: I think he's got some money 10 for you, though, it sounds like. 11 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Well, I hope so. Well, you 12 know, my -- let's just start off -- this may not be in the 13 form of a question, necessarily, but we have -- each time 14 I've gone online -- and this is before you came in, sir. My 15 understanding is we had to have had a vendor selected. The 16 only thing we've sent in to Austin is our resolution from 17 the Commissioners Court. We have not actually drawn down 18 any moneys because we have not selected a vendor, and we do 19 not know which direction we're going. So, am I 20 understanding this correctly? Just a ballpark figure. 21 Y'all got -- 22 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: See, I've got to tell 23 you, I gave them all the money I had today. (Laughter.) 24 JUDGE BAUTISTA: I know better than that. 25 That was a good try, sir. 4-19-05 17 1 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: But I think I understand 2 your question. I don't want to jump ahead, but what's 3 imperative now with the program we've put together is you 4 all need to contact these vendors. They need to come see 5 you. They need to present their -- their program to you, 6 and you begin to need to make a decision and get your 7 equipment ordered. 8 JUDGE BAUTISTA: All right. But at this 9 point, once we make our decision, are you saying that we can 10 go online and start drawing down the money without any 11 budget, anything of that sort, because we need to do this? 12 We can start drawing down what we need? 13 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Go ahead, Kim. 14 MS. SUTTON: In your packet, there is a -- 15 the guideline about how to use the HAVA funds, and it will, 16 you know, take you through the entire process. You'll need 17 to submit your resolution, submit to us from the certified 18 list of -- of approved vendors, of which there are four 19 right now, and a couple of them are still undergoing federal 20 approval -- the federal approval process. But once you 21 submit that, once you communicate that with us, saying we're 22 going to go with "X" vendor, you've done all of your -- the 23 Secretary refers to it as the beauty pageant. You've looked 24 at all the different vendor systems that are certified in 25 the state, and then you make a selection from that. Before 4-19-05 18 1 you do that -- that's part of the contract resolution with 2 -- with our office that you'll do online, okay? And then 3 you'll say "X" vendor. Then you'll start drawing down from 4 those funds. 5 JUDGE BAUTISTA: And what vendors have been 6 approved to this date? 7 MS. SUTTON: That is also, for those of you 8 that -- yes, it's in the packet. And if anybody else needs 9 one -- Commissioners? 10 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Does everybody have one 11 of -- 12 MS. SUTTON: Did I give you one? Okay, it's 13 here on this list. It's also listed on our web site. These 14 are all of the approved vendors. And then the second page 15 of this are the various models within those vendors that 16 have been approved. Not to say that this is, you know, not 17 going to grow, because it will. Since our office certifies 18 voting systems, that -- that will. But, as of right now, to 19 this very day, those are the certified voting systems. 20 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Now, we're -- needless 21 to say, we're not recommending one over the other, but I 22 will tell you, just working off memory, I think Tarrant 23 County's up and running, Dallas County, Bexar County, just 24 to name three right now that I can think of offhand. And 25 sometime -- if you have friends there or whatever, you might 4-19-05 19 1 want to call them and see what machines they have and how 2 they like it, whatever. But they've gone ahead and they 3 actually have been using this equipment for about the last 4 year, two years, some of them. So -- 5 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Now, as time progresses and 6 the money that is left over -- because, obviously, it's not 7 all going to be spent, for instance, in Kerr County or in 8 Atascosa County. You said there is no time limit on drawing 9 down the additional moneys that are left for each respective 10 county; is that correct? 11 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Right. That's exactly 12 right. 13 JUDGE BAUTISTA: So, as time progresses, if 14 we see that we want to purchase another machine for another 15 precinct that -- for instance, maybe one of our local -- 16 largest voting boxes in the county, we can do that? 17 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Yes. You send us an 18 invoice, and we'll send you the money. 19 JUDGE BAUTISTA: And then, for instance, as 20 time progresses, say two, three years has gone by; we're 21 having a problem with one of the machines. We can use that 22 money for maintenance purposes? 23 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, hopefully you're 24 going to have -- on maintenance, now, you need to talk -- on 25 maintenance, you'll want to talk to your vendor. 4-19-05 20 1 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Okay. 2 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: About warranties, et 3 cetera. That's, again, something y'all work out with them. 4 But I would think if you were out of warranty and you had a 5 problem with your machine and you needed to get it fixed, we 6 could probably, you know, cover that with whatever you had 7 left. 8 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Okay. 9 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: But I do think it's 10 important -- I want to remind you, you need to talk about -- 11 you need to remind them that the Secretary has sent you a 12 document that says they guarantee it, and that they 13 understand they won't get paid till you get paid. 14 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Now, since there's not a 15 requirement in reference to the machines, for instance, is 16 there going to have to be a paper trail? 17 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Okay. Paper trail -- 18 right now, paper trail is not in the mandate, okay? 19 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Right. 20 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: So, paper trail's not an 21 issue. We're not promoting -- or we're not out there 22 promoting or not promoting paper trial; it's not part of the 23 mandate. Now, if it gets to where it becomes part of the 24 mandate and you have to do it, this money will allow you 25 to -- excuse me -- upgrade to the paper trail. 4-19-05 21 1 JUDGE BAUTISTA: And any of these vendors 2 would be able to do that if they do not have a paper trail 3 with their machines at this time? 4 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: I think there's one -- 5 it's my understanding there's one vendor that can go paper 6 trail. 7 MS. SUTTON: I was going to say, actually, 8 there are -- they're in development right now. The 9 developers that are out there that are certified are 10 thinking -- I mean, because this is a national issue. So 11 they're thinking, if, you know, the state or the federal 12 government start requiring paper trail, then they're getting 13 ready for it. There is one that has gone through this 14 certification process in Texas. They are not federally 15 certified yet, so -- but right now, it's not required. 16 So -- but if it becomes a requirement, there are two 17 companies that are back-to-back that are ready for that, to 18 roll that out, that they will have to go through the 19 certification process. 20 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Now, last year, early in the 21 year, I'm going to say it was around February or March, 22 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, one of those particular news shows had 23 a segment in reference to being able to tap into a computer 24 system. Somebody was able to hack into the system, get in 25 and out within five minutes. Is that going to happen with 4-19-05 22 1 any of these machines, where somebody's going to get in 2 there and start changing votes? 3 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, that's 4 something -- again, let me tell about these vendors. It's 5 kind of like shopping for a car, Judge. I mean, there's all 6 different equipment. 7 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Correct. 8 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: And they all have 9 different options. You kind of need to ask them all these 10 questions. They're going to meet the standards that the 11 feds require and the state requires, okay? 12 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Well, I don't mean to throw 13 it at you, but back in -- was it August of last year? -- in 14 Austin, you had the different vendors that the -- 15 MS. SUTTON: The vendors showcase, yes. 16 JUDGE BAUTISTA: We had a -- and that was a 17 question for the vendors. And I had one that informed me 18 that if anyone in here tells you that that system cannot be 19 hacked into, he is not telling you the truth. So, I'm 20 trying to find out what is the truth here. What can 21 actually happen? 22 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: I can not answer that. 23 I can't answer that, but that is something that you really 24 need to talk to the vendors about. And if that -- you know, 25 if that is perceived to be a problem or an issue you're 4-19-05 23 1 really concerned about, we can look into it and talk to 2 them. But I think all that gets back to standards and 3 options and so forth, you know. You -- that you may have to 4 make a decision on one over the other because they have what 5 you perceive or what they say is more security than the 6 other. 7 JUDGE BAUTISTA: All right. 8 MS. SUTTON: And I think that that's when you 9 really get into discussion with them about, you know, source 10 codes and how are they programmed. Do you need to depend on 11 somebody, you know, to come and program your election for 12 you, or is that something that, you know, you can do on your 13 own or whatever? Those are the type of questions that I 14 would certainly ask the vendor. 15 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: But -- and it gets back 16 to what I said earlier. We're going to help you. We're a 17 retail operation; our door is open. Any question you've 18 got, you ask us, and we're a team. We're a team in this 19 thing, because we're going to make sure we're ready to go by 20 January 1st, so we're going to help you. We're not -- we've 21 got an investment in you guys. 22 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Yes, sir. Now, there is -- 23 should be no qualms with any of these companies coming 24 before Commissioners Court to do a presentation? 25 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Right. 4-19-05 24 1 MS. SUTTON: Right. 2 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Is that right? There should 3 be no qualms with them doing that? 4 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Not with us, or with 5 them. They want the business. 6 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Right. Okay, that's it for 7 now, but I believe Ms. Reyes has some questions. 8 MS. REYES: I do have a question. We had a 9 memo about two to three weeks ago saying that if the funds 10 were not used by August 1st, 2006, they would be exhausted. 11 Is that still -- is that still -- 12 MS. SUTTON: That was -- you all -- that was 13 a state interpretation. That's not a federal 14 interpretation. And, again, with the -- all the counties, 15 all 254 counties will be receiving, you know, this news 16 about the additional funding. We didn't want to send 17 anything until the money was in the bank, so to speak, which 18 will happen at the end of this week or next week. So, you 19 will be receiving that information, and that part will be 20 amended as well. I think that the thought process on that 21 was to get the counties moving ahead with this. You know, 22 let's not wait on legislation. Let's -- you know, the 23 mandate is here. By January 1, 2006, we need to be up and 24 running. 25 MS. REYES: Another question I have is that 4-19-05 25 1 we have a central count scanner, and the scanner that we 2 have, the company's no longer going to be making parts for 3 it. So, therefore, we're looking at not just buying one 4 D.R.E. per polling place to meet the HAVA mandate, but also 5 having to maybe buy another scanner. Now, my question is, 6 we also have a memo saying, well, HAVA funds can't be used 7 for that. 8 MS. SUTTON: For central count? 9 MS. REYES: Has anything different come down 10 on that? 11 MS. SUTTON: No. And that is the rule of 12 thumb that I would go by. Central count does not meet HAVA 13 standards. So, you know, that -- that's another thing that 14 is a vendor situation, where they're not -- no longer going 15 to support or manufacture that particular voting system. 16 Their interpretation is right, sorry. I know that's -- 17 bearer of bad news, but yeah. 18 MS. REYES: Okay. 19 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Okay? Any other 20 questions? Do we have any other guests here? 21 MS. KAHANT: I have a question. Is this 22 294,000 from the federal government, or from the State of 23 Texas? 24 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, 95 percent of it 25 is from the federal government; 5 percent is from the State 4-19-05 26 1 of Texas. 2 MS. KAHANT: Thank you. 3 MR. EVANS: On the $294,000 for Kerr County, 4 for instance, who determines that's what Kerr County got, 5 and how did they determine it? 6 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Well, we determined it. 7 We got in a room and kind of put our blinders on and said, 8 "What's the best way to do this?" And we looked at 9 eligible-age voters. 10 MR. EVANS: Okay. And you're confident that 11 will be sufficient? 12 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: I think, if you ask your 13 Commissioners, that worked out pretty good. 14 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Should be. 15 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Yeah. And we base it 16 off 2000 numbers. 17 MS. REYES: Those that were registered? 18 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: No, eligible. Eligible 19 age. 20 MR. EVANS: From the 2000 census? 21 MS. SUTTON: From the 2000 census, yes. 22 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: 2000. Yes, from 2000. 23 So, anything else? 24 JUDGE TINLEY: Any more questions? 25 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Do we have any other 4-19-05 27 1 guests here from other counties? 2 MR. TOMLINSON: I wear two hats. I 3 represent -- 4 JUDGE TINLEY: He's Bandera County also. 5 MR. TOMLINSON: I'm also the Auditor for 6 Bandera County. 7 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: If I might, real quick, 8 let me -- Bandera? 9 MR. TOMLINSON: The County Judge could not 10 come today; he had court. 11 JUDGE TINLEY: We appreciate our colleagues 12 from Atascosa County being here. Are your numbers a 13 surprise to you at this point? 14 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: She doesn't know her 15 numbers. 16 JUDGE BAUTISTA: I don't know yet. I'm 17 surprised at your numbers, to be quite honest. 18 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Do you want me to tell 19 you how much you got? What the Secretary brought to you 20 today? 21 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Yes, sir. 22 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: $103. (Laughter.) Let 23 me tell you what I've done. Here we go. 24 JUDGE TINLEY: You can tell by her question, 25 Mr. Secretary -- 4-19-05 28 1 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Come on up here. Come 2 on. 3 JUDGE BAUTISTA: I knew there was metal 4 detectors in this building. 5 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: You all do a great job. 6 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Thank you, sir. 7 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: And the Secretary today 8 has brought you $337,000. 9 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Oh, wait a minute. 10 JUDGE BAUTISTA: We have a higher population, 11 sir. I'll go ahead and give you that quick answer right 12 there. 13 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Now, will that help you? 14 Will that help you? 15 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Yes, sir, that sure will. 16 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Are you feeling 17 better, Judge? 18 JUDGE BAUTISTA: I'm feeling better now, 19 trust me, 'cause I have been worried about this. 20 JUDGE TINLEY: Those questions are not really 21 as sharp as they once seemed, are they? 22 JUDGE BAUTISTA: No, sir. 23 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: And Bandera County, we 24 have $168,000 for you. 25 MR. TOMLINSON: Good. Thanks. 4-19-05 29 1 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: And, again, I believe 2 these numbers will work. We put up a good formula. We're 3 happy to do it. Texas is going to lead the way. And you 4 all did a great job. I want to tell you again, thank you 5 from everybody. Any questions you have, you can count on my 6 office to go through the process with you, so we make it as 7 easy as we can. Get the machines ordered, get everybody 8 trained. And, as they say, onward and upward, Buster. 9 Okay? 10 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Very good. 11 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, sir. 12 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: I've got a check for you 13 guys. I want to get a picture taken, and I'm going to give 14 you all something that makes it official, okay? 15 JUDGE BAUTISTA: Thank you, sir. 16 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Here we go. We got 17 somebody that can take this photograph, and then we'll -- 18 JUDGE TINLEY: All right. 19 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Come on up here. 20 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Come up there? 21 (Discussion off the record.) 22 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: Okay, here we go. I got 23 to shake somebody's hand. 24 JUDGE TINLEY: Man, this is a great picture. 25 Thank you, sir. 4-19-05 30 1 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: All right. Now, what we 2 do, too, is I'm going to leave this with you, of course. 3 And, Kim, do you have our pen so we all can sign this? 4 We've got a special pen. Now, let me tell y'all a quick 5 story; you'll love this, Judge. I was in a very, very small 6 county. We went to that county by design, 'cause we wanted 7 the smallest counties, and the Secretary had never been to 8 their county. And they didn't like HAVA. Everything was 9 going great, and they were loaded for bear when I got there. 10 And we went through our program, and when it was over with, 11 they were so excited they ordered cookies in, and we sat 12 there and had cookies for a while. Then we got on the road, 13 and about an hour outside of the town, Kim Sutton's phone 14 rang. It was the County Clerk, and this is the 15 conversation: "Kim, I just cannot believe that you all were 16 here. What a great thing, and the Secretary was just 17 fabulous, what you did for us. But, Kim, I know the 18 Secretary is a busy, busy man, but when the Secretary left, 19 he took my pen. Can I have my pen back?" So, I'm telling 20 everybody, I'm leaving you all with some money today, and I 21 don't want your pen, okay? I'll just leave you that money. 22 JUDGE TINLEY: They run a tight ship there, 23 obviously. 24 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: That's right. And there 25 you go, Judge. 4-19-05 31 1 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, sir. 2 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Very good. 3 JUDGE TINLEY: We appreciate your efforts. 4 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Come again any time 5 you have money. 6 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: And I've got the book of 7 courthouses also which we're taking around with us. I'm 8 going to ask you all to sign it, and we're going to give it 9 to the Capitol for perpetuity, for the history books, so a 10 hundred years from now, when they want to know what the heck 11 you all made this deal for, they can blame you, see? 12 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay, that works. 13 SECRETARY WILLIAMS: So, if you all would 14 just sign this real quick on your right page. We went into 15 Walker County the other day, and they signed on the Waller 16 County page, so now I can't go to Waller County. 17 (Laughter.) 18 (Discussion off the record.) 19 JUDGE TINLEY: Okay, where'd Kim go? She's 20 the keeper of all things historical, I'm sure. 21 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge, are we 22 adjourned, or what are we doing here? 23 JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, we might ought to -- 24 we've got our reporter down here, and she's probably 25 wondering what kind of madness is going on. Is there any -- 4-19-05 32 1 any other question or information that needs to be passed 2 along? That will conclude the meeting. 3 (Workshop adjourned at 4:06 p.m.) 4 - - - - - - - - - - 5 6 7 8 9 STATE OF TEXAS | 10 COUNTY OF KERR | 11 The above and foregoing is a true and complete 12 transcription of my stenotype notes taken in my capacity as 13 County Clerk of the Commissioners Court of Kerr County, 14 Texas, at the time and place heretofore set forth. 15 DATED at Kerrville, Texas, this 20th day of April, 16 2005. 17 18 19 JANNETT PIEPER, Kerr County Clerk 20 BY: _________________________________ Kathy Banik, Deputy County Clerk 21 Certified Shorthand Reporter 22 23 24 25 4-19-05