Jim Wells County adopts Texas-certified Verity Vanguard voting system

Jim Wells County has added a new layer of scrutiny to local elections by adopting Hart InterCivic’s Verity Vanguard, the first voting system certified to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s VVSG 2.0 standards. For voters in Alice and across the county, the change is not just about new equipment in the polling place. It also expands how ballots can be checked, how results can be reviewed, and how officials can show the public what happened after the polls close.

Hart InterCivic announced Texas certification of Verity Vanguard on April 2, 2026, and said Texas became the sixth state to approve the system. Company CEO Julie Mathis said Texas election officials now have access to technology that reflects high standards of security and integrity. Hart describes the platform as using a defense-in-depth design, being fully air-gapped, and supporting post-election verification.

The county’s move followed a January 9, 2026 commissioners court notice that authorized County Judge Pedro Trevino Jr. to enter a master agreement with Hart InterCivic for voting hardware and software support in the amount of $348,059. The same notice also approved a finance contract with Government Capital Corporation for the same amount. That paperwork signaled that Jim Wells County was preparing not only to update voting equipment, but also to tie the purchase to long-term support and financing.

The practical public-facing piece is already taking shape through Jim Wells County Elections. On January 3, 2026, the department launched a public Ballot Verifier that lets residents view and download ballot images, contest-level cast vote records, and contest results online. That matters in a county where election confidence often turns on whether people can see the paper trail, compare records, and understand how totals were built.

Hart says Verity Vanguard is built on its existing Verity Voting platform, which it says is used in more than 800 jurisdictions nationwide. The company also said Texas requires one of the most thorough voting-system certification processes in the country, with both federal testing and an independent state review before approval.

For Jim Wells County, the adoption links voting machines, post-election checks, and public access into one system. Voters casting ballots, election workers tabulating results, and residents reviewing records will now be using a platform designed around the same question: whether the county can show its elections are secure, accessible, and transparent from the first vote to the final certification.