There are apparently numerous facts that have been raised with the Commissioners, the County
Judge, the Purchasing Department, and the District Attorney documenting potential bias on the
part of Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole acting as a Procurement Professional on
behalf of the County. We will leave it to the press and other discovery investigators to uncover
those facts for the public. We do know that Section 8 of the Dallas County Code of Ethics
requires Impartial Decision Making and Perception.” Section 12 states: Vendors, Procurement
Professionals, and Elected Officials shall maintain high standards of honesty, integrity, and
impartiality throughout the solicitation and contracting process, and shall conduct all contract
and solicitation-related activities in accordance with any governing laws, regulations, and this
Code of Ethics.” In addition, questions must be asked about the procurement of technology for
the election system. Not that new technology is being looked for, but the numbers do not
apparently add up. There are 486 Election Day Poll Sites that include 792 Precincts. In 2016, the
system served 1,112,375 voters and in 2018 that increased to 1,161,328 voters, an increase of
about 49,000. In June 2016, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was released that required 3,000 (three
thousand) iPads. Two years and three months later in September 2018, a new RFP requested
4500 iPads under what turned out to be a six million dollar contract for 3 years of which about
half is hardware. This is after a 49,000 or a 4.4% growth in voters, yet the new RFP looked for a
50% increase in iPads. This would mean about nine iPads per polling place when just two years
and three months earlier about 6 iPads per location was enough. This process must also be
looked at in the light of the number of voters who choose to vote early or by mail. In 2016,
514,581 ballots were cast through Early voting in person, 42,697 ballots were cast through the
mail and 211,666 voters went to the polls on election day. Dallas election administrators argued
at that time that they needed 3,000 (three thousand) iPads to serve 211,666 out of 1,112,375
voters or just over 19% of voters who went to the polls on election day. That is approximately 70
(seventy) users per iPad on election day in 2016. Spread over a 12 (twelve) hour voting day that
gives us about 5.9 voters per hour on each iPad. So are they really arguing that it takes each voter
almost 10 (ten) minutes to check in using the iPad based system? In 2018, 492,980 ballots were
cast through Early voting in person, 42,277 ballots were cast through the mail and 195,486 voters
went to the polls on election day. Dallas election administrators argued in the 2018 RFP that they
needed 4500 (four thousand five hundred) iPads to serve 195,486 out of 1,161,328 voters or just
under 17% of voters who went to the polls on election day. That is approximately 43 (forty-
three) voters per iPad on election day in 2018. Spread over a 12 (twelve) hour voting day that
gives us about 3.6 voters per hour on each iPad. So are they really arguing in this case that it now
takes each voter almost 15 (fifteen) minutes to check in using the iPad based system? Is the
failure rate of iPads that unusually high? Perhaps someone should tell Apple CEO, Tom Cook. Is
it true that Apple has stated in sales meetings that their products should not be used in mission-
critical environments? If so why would such equipment be chosen? Why are so many iPads
running software not designed to be accessible. The manufacturers of the proposed system might
be arguing that the iPad is accessible so therefore their software is. Unless designed to be
accessible to proscribed standards then accessibility will be problematic at best and more than
likely non-existent. Are the actions of Elections Administrator, Toni Pippins-Poole, based on
sound judgment, impartial decision making and perception? Is she acting in accordance with any
governing laws, regulations, and the Code of Ethics? Are her actions based on personal dislikes
and/or an overall discriminatory attitude toward people with disabilities in general? By not
including accessibility requirements she is certainly violating the ADA as governing law which
apparently puts her and her team in what may be a direct contradiction of the Code of Ethics.
Having been informed of the egregious act of discrimination by the Dallas County Elections
Department and Elections Administrator, Toni Pippins-Poole, in not requiring accessibility when
seeking new election technologies, Access Ready decided to see how far this discriminatory
attitude went across the governments of Dallas. To our dismay, we find that not only are they not
requiring accessibility in new technologies but that the online presence of Dallas County, the
Dallas Board of Elections, and the City of Dallas are overwhelmingly inaccessible as well.
Following our standard practice, we are informing the officials of those governments of these
violations along with the major disability organizations at the local, state, and national level.
Access Ready is offering to work with each of the governments to assist them in putting in place
policies designed to foster accessibility and we are waiting on their replies.
About Access Ready, Inc.
Access Ready, Inc. is a nonprofit cross-disability education and advocacy organization
promoting a policy of inclusion and accessibility across information and communications technology through
education and best practices. It shall be Policy One of Access Ready Inc. never to be a plaintiff
in and/or financially support any legal action or lawsuit related to the accessibility or
inaccessibility of any information and communications technology software, hardware or service. Further Access
Ready Inc. shall make the results of its technical findings, policy discussions and advocacy
efforts available to the public through accessready.org, its social media stream, and other public
relations efforts. The Board of Directors of Access Ready has deemed inaccessible information
technology to be a clear, growing and present danger to the civic, economic and social welfare of
people with disabilities. We would welcome your support.