OCTOBER 1, 2003

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is kicking off the process for identifying qualified vendors to supply the state with optical scan voting equipment.

An invitation to bid was released today and is on the Department of State Web site at www.michigan.gov/sos, as well as the Department of Management and Budget Acquisition Services Web site at www.michigan.gov/doingbusiness.

"It is in the best interest of Michigan voters to obtain responses from as many qualified vendors as possible," said Land, the state’s chief elections officer. "We want to provide counties with a choice of suppliers that allows each county and its respective jurisdictions to collectively decide which vendor will meet the needs of their voting constituencies. Our process ensures that we use taxpayer dollars wisely. We are committed to obtaining the best product at the best price possible."

All jurisdictions in each county must use the same type of optical scan equipment. It will be up to the county, city and township clerks to work together to select the supplier for their county. Only vendors approved by the state will be eligible to provide voting equipment to local election officials.

Final certification of all qualified vendors is expected by mid-December, when final contracts will be made available to counties for use in making their individual selections and purchases.

The invitation to bid outlines the contractual specifications, voting equipment requirements, costs, contractor responsibilities and legal obligations that must be addressed in each vendor’s proposal. Under the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA), voting equipment proposed by vendors must:

• Permit voters to verify their ballots and change their votes before the ballots are cast.
• Notify voters when errors are made on the ballots and provide them with an opportunity to cast new ballots to correct the errors.
• Provide alternate language accessibility.

With an optical scan voting system, voters indicate their ballot choices by coloring in a small oval placed next to each candidate’s name. A secrecy sleeve protects the integrity of the ballot as the ballot is fed into a tabulator at the polling place. The tabulator scans the ballot and records the votes in its memory. The paper ballot is then secured in a storage bin where it remains until the polls close.

A major advantage of this method is that two-thirds of Michigan’s 5,305 precincts already use an optical scan system. Optical scan systems quickly compile and document election results and provide a paper trail – especially important if a recount is required. Of the remaining 1,829 precincts, those using central-count punch-card voting systems, lever machines and paper ballots will be among the first to receive new optical scan equipment.

More than $45 million of federal funding under HAVA has been made available to pay for the state’s conversion to optical scan voting technology. The state anticipates that some voting jurisdictions will have completed their migration to optical scan voting technology in time for the 2004 general election. Under federal law, all precincts must be converted by 2006.

RELATED LINKS

> Michigan HAVA Web site (Invitation to bid - please see first bullet)

> Invitation to bid (Michigan DMB Web site)

> Michigan DMB Acquisition Services Web site

> Federal Election Commission HAVA Web site

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