Still the only voter ID anyone should need
Bexar County is sitting on more than 45,000 voter registration forms that haven’t been processed — less than 50 days before voters decide whether to devote public dollars to a downtown arena for the San Antonio Spurs.
That’s because a third-party vendor that managed voter rolls for Bexar County and 22 other Texas counties went out of business this summer, forcing the counties to shift to the state’s Texas Election Administration Management system, or TEAM. The state software, typically used by smaller counties, has been slow to roll out in Texas’ fourth-largest county.
“This is an unprecedented situation. The vendor abruptly shut off their services, disrupting the voter registration functions of 23 Texas counties,” said Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the Texas Secretary of State. “Of those, 14 have requested to join the TEAM system, and we are working as diligently as possible to onboard those counties ahead of the November election.”
The defunct firm, California-based VOTEC, provided software that the county’s election administrators use to store data of registered voters, match them with the correct voting precinct and ensure they get the right ballot at the polls.
Last week, Bexar County Commissioners Court approved $1.5 million in the county’s new budget to adopt a new third-party system. But with no contract signed, that system won’t be in place for the November election.
[…]
Most smaller Texas counties use the state’s system, but larger ones such as Bexar County rely on outside vendors with tools that TEAM lacks, such as digital signature checks. Those features make it easier to manage the high volume of voters, Carew said.
VOTEC told its customers in August that it was going out of business. The company has experienced financial woes over the years. In 2024, it hit Texas counties with a surprise surcharge to stay afloat.
The company was one of just three firms the state approves to manage voter registration data.
Bexar County chose to move to the state’s system for the November’s election rather than quickly switch to another vendor, but it made the call later than other counties that had already asked the state for help.
The state upgraded TEAM this summer and told counties it would be ready in July. But Bexar County is still waiting for the state to finish mapping addresses to precincts so voters can be matched correctly.
Voter registrations have piled up at Bexar County’s elections office — and people who have applied still technically aren’t registered voters.
“Until we process them through the TEAM system, there’s not a way for me to say that they are considered an active voter,” [Bexar County elections administrator Michele] Carew said.
The predicament puts the county at odds with state law, which states that voter registrations become effective 30 days after they are submitted.
“Each one of the eligible voters should have already received the voter registration card from us,” Carew said. “Technically, we’re out of compliance.”
What a mess. From my outside perspective, as someone with no vested interest in the Spurs’ arena, I can say at least this ought to be fixed in time for the 2026 election, when it will really matter. That’s not of any comfort to those who are affected now, of course. Good luck sorting this all out by early October, y’all. The San Antonio Report has more.
In doing internet searches and AI queries I’m seeing that VOTEC perhaps hasn’t ceased business operations. Be that as it may, one wonders what the status of Harris County would be, which as far as I know is a VOTEC client.
AI queries ?
We are doomed
@ Booger Smith I’m not citing it as gospel, but it raises questions as to what the status of the company is. From a casual AI query on Google just now 24 Sept 2025 7:45pm CDT:
Despite facing a financial crisis in the summer of 2025, VOTEC Corporation is not out of business as of September 2025. The San Diego-based election technology vendor secured enough funding to continue its operations.
Key events surrounding VOTEC:
In April 2024, VOTEC CEO John Medcalf controversially demanded a 35% surcharge from 32 Texas counties, threatening to cut off software services before the November elections if they did not pay. Medcalf attributed the demand to past late payments from customers.
In July 2025, Medcalf sent a letter to customers warning that the company might not be able to continue operating due to an immediate need for capital.
By August 2025, the company had secured sufficient funds to continue.
As of September 2025, VOTEC’s website is active, lists its San Diego headquarters, and promotes its election and voter management systems.