On March 28th, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, by a majority vote, directed staff to (1) establish a procedure for the manual tally of ballots, (2) select either Electronic Systems & Software (ES&S) or Hart to provide voting equipment and associated software to satisfy all state and federal laws relating to voting access for persons with disabilities and (3) submit the plan to the Secretary of State for approval for use at the County’s next election.
As discussed at prior meetings, state and federal law require the county to provide ballot marking devices at each precinct to accommodate disabled voters. In addition, as discussed at the March 28th meeting, to create ballots that function with those devices, the county must also purchase key components needed in an election, including the certified software and hardware system needed to create and print ballots. Finally, based on information from the Secretary of State, in order to conduct a manual tally, the county must purchase equipment to scan and serialize ballots. The Board has terminated the county’s agreement with Dominion and the county currently has no equipment to perform these functions and therefore the Registrar of Voters requests the authority to purchase the equipment necessary to perform them.
After evaluating the Hart and Election Systems & Software (ES&S) systems, the two remaining systems certified by the Secretary of State, the Registrar of Voters has determined that Hart equipment should be used in Shasta County. First, especially in elections with a few hundred people, as some special elections in Shasta are, the Hart equipment ensures that disabled voters’ ballots cannot be identified and maintains secrecy. The Hart ballot for use with ballot marking devices is the same as that used by all other voters, and it does not bear a bar code. That is not true for the ES&S system. Second, the Hart system is less expensive. Finally, Hart ballots can be printed by the county’s existing certified printer. If the ES&S system was adopted, a new printing contract would have to be negotiated and approved; there is no guarantee that this could be done in time to produce ballots for a special election.
County Counsel has advised that state and federal law require: (1) The County to provide at each polling site at least one voting machine accessible to the disabled; and (2) the County’s voting system that uses such voting machines must be certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State.
The federal Help America Vote Act, at 52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(3)(A)(B) requires, for elections for Federal office, that there be “at least one direct recording electronic voting system or other voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities at each polling place.” The term “voting system” is defined as the “the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment (including the software, firmware, and documentation required to program, control, and support the equipment) that is used...to cast and count votes...” 52 U.S.C. 21081(b)(1)(B).
California Elections Code 19242(b) provides, for elections for Federal office, that, “at each polling place, at least one voting unit certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State shall provide voters with disabilities the access required under the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.”
California Elections Code 19242(c) also provides, for non-Federal elections and subject to available funds, that, at each polling place, at least one voting unit certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State shall provide voters with disabilities the access required under the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.
At least one federal court has stated that California and federal law require the provision of at least one accessible voting machine at each polling site. California Council of the Blind v. County of Alameda, 985 F. Supp. 2d 1229 (N.D. Cal. 2013).
In addition, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the County must provide meaningful access to private and independent voting. Providing third party assistants to disabled voters to allow them to vote will not satisfy this obligation because it would force the disabled to reveal their political opinions that others are not required to disclose. California Council of the Blind v. County of Alameda, 985 F. Supp. 2d 1229 (N. D. Cal. 2013).
A voting system, in whole or in part, shall not be used unless it has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State prior to any election at which it is to be used. Elections Code 19202(a). The Elections Code does authorize certain “voting system pilot programs.” However, a voting system pilot program shall not be conducted in a legally binding election without the prior approval of the Secretary of State. Elections Code 19209.
The County shall not purchase or contract for a voting system unless it has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State. Elections Code 19202(d).
The term “voting system” is defined, in pertinent part, as a “mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software, or any combination of these used for casting a ballot, tabulating votes, or both.” Elections Code 362.
In addition to the requirements listed above, Title III of HAVA sets forth voting system standards for use in federal elections. These standards require that any voting system used in a federal election meet the following requirements:
Permit the voter to verify (in a private and independent manner) the votes selected by the voter on the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted.
Provide the voter with the opportunity (in a private and independent manner) to change the ballot or correct any error before the ballot is cast and counted (including the opportunity to correct the error through the issuance of a replacement ballot if the voter was otherwise unable to change the ballot or correct any error); and if the voter selects votes for more than one candidate for a single office –
notify the voter that he/she has selected more than one candidate for a single office on the ballot;
notify the voter before the ballot is cast and counted of the effect of casting multiple votes for the office; and provide the voter with the opportunity to correct the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted. A jurisdiction that uses a paper ballot voting system or a central count voting system (including mail-in ballots), may meet the requirements of 3 above by: establishing a voter education program specific to that voting system, that notifies each voter of the effect of casting multiple votes for an office; and providing the voter with instructions on how to correct the ballot before it is cast and counted (including instructions on how to correct the error through the issuance of a replacement ballot if the voter was otherwise unable to change the ballot or correct any error).
The equipment and software needed to comply with the manual tally must be certified by the Secretary of State. In both the internal County meeting on March 15, 2023, and during the February 28, 2023, and March 28, 2023, board meetings, the Secretary of State's staff, present at all three meetings, made it clear that the Secretary of State’s manual tally regulations currently under development will require that, prior to a manual tally, all ballots must be scanned and serialized. Currently, the only certified equipment available from Hart to scan ballots also has the capability to do a machine count even if the County’s process provides for a manual tally. Additionally, since the Secretary of State has not issued its regulations regarding manual tallies, it is unknown whether any additional equipment will be required or if a machine tabulation may also be required. The machines available to scan could meet those needs for a machine tabulation if the situation arises. Voting system equipment is required to perform these tasks, and the equipment used in that process must be certified equipment.
The next regularly scheduled election in Shasta is the Presidential preference primary election on March 5, 2024. The process to prepare for and conduct a presidential primary election requires the voting system to be operational by early summer 2023. On average, it takes approximately 9 months to install, train, and test new equipment for a countywide election. As a result, in order to conduct the 2024 presidential primary election, the County must have a contract executed no later than April 28, 2023, that permits installation of the equipment. It also should be noted that candidate filing for County Supervisor in Districts 2, 3 and 4 concludes on December 8, 2023, which allows the process to create ballots to begin. It is necessary to have a certified voting system in order to create ballots.
The timeline discussed in the previous paragraph does not take into account any special election that might be called. While implementation of a voting system for the potential special election is somewhat more straightforward because it is an election of fewer than 10,000 voters, if a special election were to be called, the timeframes discussed above would need to be significantly advanced. Today, the department has received inquiries from two local jurisdictions about conducting special elections potentially on November 7, 2023. Candidate filing for the November date concludes August 11, 2023, with military and overseas ballots due to be delivered on September 23, 2023.
Also attached to this report are the original quotes requested from the vendors. Following the Board’s direction, the Department will enter into negotiations in order to obtain the best available price and terms. Not included in the costs below are staff costs that are needed from other departments including Information Technology, Facilities, and the Administrative Office.
| Onsite Support |
Professional Services Total |
$48,904 |
| Training |
Training Services Total |
$20,000 |
| Equipment Consumables |
Minor Equipment Total |
$27,087 |
| Certified Scanners |
Scanner Total |
$43,375 |
| Certified Computers for software |
Workstation Total |
$44,048 |
| Software to create and scan ballots (including annual license fee) |
Software Total |
$151,223 |
| Ballot on Demand Printer |
Ballot Printer Total |
$19,112 |
| Accessible BMDs |
Ballot Marking Device Total |
$447,794 |