On Friday, a voting company owner acknowledged making a “coercive” demand in 32 Texas counties: Pay an additional surcharge for the software that runs their voting registration system or lose it just before November’s elections.
John Medcalf of San Diego-based VOTEC said he had to request the counties pay a 35% surcharge because several agencies in multiple states, including some of the Texas counties, have been late to pay in the past and his company had trouble meeting payroll.
He characterized the charges as a cry for help to get enough money to avoid losing key employees just before November.
“It is coercive, and I regret that,” Medcalf said. “We’ve been able to get by 44 of 45 years without doing that.”
The surcharges have sent Texas’ largest counties scrambling to approve payments or look at other ways they can avoid losing the software at a critical time.
