Voting company makes ‘coercive’ demand of Texas counties: Pay up or lose service before election

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI
Associated Press

The owner of a voting company is acknowledging that he’s asking Texas counties to pay more than they’re contracted for to help his company meet payroll. VOTEC is under contract with 32 state counties to provide software for their voter registration systems. Owner John Medcalf says he needs an extra 35% of two items in the contracts to avoid financial turmoil in his firm. Medcalf says counties have been late in paying, forcing the company to skip payroll once last year. He fears losing employees if that happens before this November’s election. Texas’ Secretary of State’s office says it is consulting with counties about their options.