A 17-page report issued by a Texas Senate panel led by East Texas state Sen. Bryan Hughes gives a preview of election security bills that lawmakers will take up when they convene in Austin at the new year. Released to the public Wednesday, the report by the Senate Select Committee on Election Security does not include recommendations on combating mail ballot fraud. That topic took up much of the seven-member, bipartisan panel’s only meeting Feb. 22. … The report devotes much of its attention to the cybersecurity of voting systems in Texas and recommends that all electronic voting machines in the state produce a paper ballot voters can inspect before casting their ballots.
“Sixty-six percent of Americans now vote on a paper backup system,” Hughes said. “So, Texas is way behind. We’ve been trying to get this done for a long time, and I am optimistic this will become law.”
Texas is one of nine states that use electronic machines that record votes directly into their computer memory without creating a paper trail. Some counties — and each of the 254 counties is different — have a form of this direct-recording electronic systems that is capable of producing a paper record.
Full Article: Hughes’ committee election report calls for paper ballot trail, lays ground for bills in 2019 Legislature | Gregg | news-journal.com.