A provision within the new Texas election law requires a 24-hour video live stream and recording of all areas containing voted ballots in counties with populations of 100,000 people or more.
Gov. Greg Abbot signed the Texas Voting Bill SB1 into law during the 2021 legislative session to preserve election integrity and safeguard elections from fraud. The new requirement took effect on December 2, 2021, in time for the 2022 primary elections, which sent county voting administrators hunting for a video surveillance solution that would allow them to remain compliant with the new requirements.
There are a lot of questions about what exactly Texas counties are required to provide for video surveillance within the new SB 1 voting bill. According to the Texas Secretary of State, here’s what you need to know:
The new video requirements apply to Texas counties with 100,000 people or more.
The video recording must be made available anywhere containing voted ballots, including the central counting station (CCS), early voting ballot board (EVBB), or signature verification committee (SVC).
The live stream video recording must begin with the first meeting of the CCS, EVBB, or SVC (whichever is earlier), and must continue until the local canvass of election results. The recording must be live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no interruptions.
Which ballot types are included under the new Texas SB1 election law? “Voted ballots” includes paper ballots and electronic media containing cast vote records.
Counties must live stream and record for posterity all areas containing voted ballots while votes are being tallied.
Although there are no specific minimum requirements for the number of cameras, the cameras must capture all areas containing voted ballots. Audio is not required for the live-stream video recording, but it is permitted.
YouTube: Many Texas counties tried the free YouTube solution for their 2022 spring primary elections but experienced frequent headaches. The live stream would randomly fail, causing their video to go down almost daily. This added burdened IT staff, requiring them to scramble to get the feedback up and running and remain compliant.
Swagit (now a part of Granicus) [[INSERT LINK ONCE SWAGIT PAGE IS UP]]: Other Texas counties chose Swagit (now a part of Granicus) to solve their need for a new election ballot video streaming service. Swagit provides hands-free video streaming® and broadcast solutions to local, state, and federal government agencies. Swagit video streaming for elections allows counties to adhere to the new bill requirements, without the hassle of interrupted video feeds. Swagit’s network is fully redundant, giving clients peace of mind and keeping with the Swagit motto, “Always Connected.”
With Swagit, counties are able to easily stream their election ballot feeds live to a dedicated page on their website, where the public can access the streams free of charge.
If you are a county elections administrator looking to solve your video live stream and recording requirements – request a Swagit elections video surveillance demo today.
