HOUSTON – Harris County owns 2,400 iPads that have sat unused since they were purchased in June 2015, Channel 2 Investigates has learned.
The tablets were purchased at the direction of Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart, to increase efficiency at polling locations by quickly scanning voters' ID cards.
Such technology would be welcome this election cycle, as early voters stand in long lines waiting to be checked in by volunteers with laptops.
But implementation of iPads has been difficult to master, particularly ensuring that no Harris County residents can vote more than once.
"We're not going to go live until we have all of it precisely how we want it to work," Stanart said.
The 2,400 iPads cost taxpayers in Harris County $1,091,328.
Stanart said that ultimately the purchase will save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, because the county is doing a lot of the work, versus farming it out to vendors.
Stanart personally designed the stand the iPads will rest in, although the Stanart Stands have not yet gone into production.
"We'll probably start doing trials next year," Stanart said.