Approve the acquisition of the Election Systems & Software (ES&S) election system, as directed by the Board, and authorize the Elections Director to prepare a Requisition for the Purchase Order and to sign the Software License Agreement and the Maintenance & Service Agreement, once finalized.

Following the 2014 election cycle, Elections staff were directed to investigate elections solutions to improve the voter experience for Cochise County voters for future elections, including the implementation of a new elections system (hardware and software).  Existing election equipment has outlived its useful life and several problems occurred during the 2014 election cycle, which caused a delay in posting results. 
After conducting due diligence regarding available election system solutions, staff is recommending the acquisition of the ES&S election system (hardware and software).  The system is fully certified for use by the Arizona Secretary of State.  The system is a complete end-to-end elections business solution and will provide numerous improvements over the current system.  Specific improvements include:
> the ability for staff to do the programming and layout of ballots for an election (saving ongoing programming costs);
> the ability to ensure that every voter at the polling places receives exactly the right ballot without the need for a poll worker to make a determination about which ballot style should be given to a particular voter (eliminating a recurring problem in past elections);
> new touch-screen technology that will make it easier for voters to mark their ballots (improved voter service and a reduction in printing costs because we will not print polling place ballots),
> a high-speed optical scanner for counting early ballots that can process 200+ ballots per minute ensuring that all Early ballots processed by the Recorders and received in Elections by Election Day will be counted before the close of polls.

Staff has been working with the vendor to determine the number of each machine required in order to conduct elections.  The number of machines to be acquired is dependent upon the approach to voting.  For example, if the Board approves the use of Vote Centers, less equipment will be needed than if we continue to equip 49 separate precinct polling places, thus making Vote Centers a more economical approach to voting.  A preliminary planning spreadsheet showing how many Vote Centers will be needed and where prospective Vote Centers could be located, is attached.  It was necessary to do this workup in order to determine the number of the various types of voting equipment that should be ordered.  While the ultimate determination about where Vote Centers will actually be located will be resolved at a future Board meeting, staff has worked closely with the vendor regarding equipment needs and believes that the equipment listed in the Quote #3 is adequate to equip a sufficient number of Vote Centers for Cochise County, regardless of where they are established.
 

After the Board determines whether to move forward with Vote Centers, and approves the acquisition of the election system, staff will work with the vendor to fine tune the number of each machine, ensure credit is obtained for all existing equipment being repurchased by ES&S and resolve any of the County's legal concerns with the software license contract; staff is also obtaining a discounted price for the Maintenance & Software Agreement, provided a five-year M&S Agreement is signed.  Once that is accomplished, a Requisition will be completed to issue a Purchase Order for the hardware and software.

Existing equipment and tabulation software will be used for the 2016 election cycle.

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