Spring-area voters will weigh in on a school tax increase and a new county judge when they head to the polls Nov. 3, and Harris County is already testing every machine that will count those ballots.

Spring ISD's Proposition A would raise the district's maintenance and operations tax rate by 2 cents, to $1.1569 per $100 of property value. The measure would generate an estimated $15.5 million in combined local and state revenue, according to Spring ISD. For a home valued at $250,000, the increase would cost about $55 per year. Voters rejected a similar measure in 2024.

The Spring ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Aug. 17 to place Prop A on the ballot. The district is hosting a virtual community meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m. and an in-person meeting on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m., according to Spring ISD on X.

Also on the ballot: the Harris County judge race, where Democrat Letitia Plummer faces Republican Orlando Sanchez after County Judge Lina Hidalgo chose not to seek re-election, according to Houston Public Media.

Behind the scenes, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth's office is running Logic and Accuracy testing on more than 10,000 pieces of voting equipment. The testing is required under Texas law. Workers feed preset ballots through each machine to confirm it records and counts votes correctly, KPRC 2 reported Sept. 15. Staff must check more than 2,000 ballot versions because the races each voter sees depend on where that person is registered.

Every machine gets checked twice. After testing at headquarters, election workers run a second check while setting up each Vote Center before polls open. Field technicians are stationed near voting sites to handle problems once balloting begins.

"The whole point of this testing is, is to get ahead of it before it goes out in the field," Hudspeth told KPRC 2.

Representatives appointed by both the Republican and Democratic parties observe the process through Election Night and sign off before results are transmitted. The public can view some operations through live camera feeds at HarrisVotes.com.

The voter registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 5. Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Oct. 30. Election Day polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sample ballots are expected at HarrisVotes.com after Friday, Sept. 18, according to CW39.