No, Texas voting machines aren’t switching your votes

Voters cast their ballots at the Lochwood Branch Library in Dallas on Feb. 25, the last day of early voting in the Texas primary. (Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune)

Warnings to double-check early-voting ballots began spreading across social media this week as some Texas voters claimed that electronic voting machines had switched their votes from Democratic to Republican.

But this isn’t a case of grand conspiracy, malfeasance or rigged machines. Instead, election officials, security experts and voting rights advocates say some of the touch-sensitive screens on voting machines can be tricky to use, much like miscues while trying to use a smartphone. Midland County Election Administrator Carolyn Graves likened the experience to texting with a small keypad.