Collin County voters are getting a new voting routine this election, and it starts with something simple: fresh pens at every polling place. Elections Administrator Kaleb Breaux said during a Good Day appearance today that voters will see small but meaningful changes in how in-person ballots are produced and tallied. County officials say the tweaks are meant to boost transparency, but they also acknowledge the new setup could affect how quickly lines move during busy periods.
In an interview with FOX 4, Breaux said vote centers will now supply pens and print hand-marked ballots on demand, which voters will then feed into optical scanners. The county is moving away from relying on touchscreen ballot-marking devices for most voters. Reporting and county documents detail the Ballot on Demand rollout and note that voters will use pens, not pencils, so marks cannot be erased, Community Impact reports. The scanners are set to flag undervotes, overvotes or unreadable marks so voters can fix mistakes before they leave the polling place.
What's changing at the polls
The county shifted to hand-marked paper ballots after Commissioners Court approved the change in June 2025, citing in part federal guidance that calls for voter-verifiable paper records. Pen And Paper Move coverage of that decision and subsequent local reporting show the court budgeted roughly $2.3 million for printers, carts, booths and scanners to support the system. The Dallas Morning News and county documents provide the full breakdown and timeline.
How Election Day will work
Here is the basic flow: Voters will check in at any vote center, receive a printed ballot tailored to their precinct, fill in the oval for their choices with the provided pen and then feed the sheet into an optical scanner. The scanner immediately reports any read errors so voters can address them on the spot. Collin County's elections office says ballot-marking devices will still be available for voters who need ADA accommodations, and the county posts sample ballots and polling locations on its website. For official guidance and locations, see Collin County.
Local reaction and what to expect
Not everyone is sold on the shift. Voter-advocacy groups and some longtime poll workers have warned that the switch to hand-marked ballots could slow down voting and turn off people who do not want to stand in a longer line. The League of Women Voters and other critics say the change risks disenfranchising habitual voters during the learning curve, The Dallas Morning News reports. Breaux has acknowledged the county is still adjusting and has described a low-turnout election as a chance to stress-test the system before larger contests next year.
How to prepare
If you are heading to the polls, bring your ID, build in extra time for the mark-and-scan process and do not hesitate to ask a poll worker for a replacement ballot if your first one is rejected by the scanner. County officials are urging patience with poll workers during the rollout and encouraging voters to review sample ballots ahead of time. That early homework could help keep lines moving once you are in the booth.
Watch Breaux's Good Day interview on FOX 4, posted today. The segment walks through the new pens and the county's plan to print and scan hand-marked ballots at vote centers.
