BBV: Questions about contract for a voter registration system

[RedEagle]

Is it common practice, in cases where a company is contracting to provide software services, that:

"XXXX does not represent or warrent that the specified XXXX software will be free from errors or that all erros in any specified XXXX software will be corrected."

There's more to it of course, but I thought this seemed kind of like a blanket 'out" clause.



"The contract is for an electronic voter registration and election managment system. The county's overall objectives are:

1. Acquisition fo application to support maintenace of voter registration records.....that runs in a networked, multi-user environment with connections to the state voter registration database...
2. Software must provide election management functionality, including planning tools to enable the department to efficiently design and CREATE BALLOTS for a voting system yet to be aquired. This includes optical scan paper ballots and direct recording equipment from any of the election system vendors certified for use in the state.
....
6. The software must provide flexible and highly responsive reporting and data query ability.
7. Support for future, regional polling centers with secure network access to the voter registration records must be provided."


#2 Bothers me. Almost all of the voting systems I've researched are capable of creating their own ballot. You create a ballot with the voting system, not the voter registration data base. This implies to me a connection between the registration system and voting system. Why? Isn't there a potential for breech of confidentiality here? Potential to corrupt, intentionally or not, the voting system if you import data? Help me out here, this doesn't look necessary or desirable.


It comes up again in another set of requirments:

"1. Define multiple elections running concurrently.
2. Define polling place / absentee elections and all vote-by-mail elections.
3. Define ballot styles required for each election based on jurisdictions and districts in each election.
4. Tools for determining number of ballots to order for each ballot style.
5. Exports ballot style and ballot creation data for various voting systems.
6. Allow for voter registration deadlines and eligible voters for multiple elections running on different dates. ...."



#5, sounds like the voter registration system is exporting ballots to the voting system. Again why would there be any connectivity between the two? Why would you do anything like that with a voting system that is supposed to be secure?


"System should run on open architecture, enterprise database, capable of running Windows 2000 professional OS. State requires SQL or Oracle as DB platforms, must accept .TIF format, designed in VB.NET or ASP.NET, export data to text files, Excel, Access DB, access to data table or views using an ODBC connection"


Is there anything in all that that could not be accomplished by a competent IT professional? Is there anything in the maintenance of this type of system, that is worth $4,000 a MONTH?

(Of course there are requirments about what the system must do, I can't quote the whole contract here nor do is it up on a site yet where it can be downloaded)


This one bothers me too and it looks like a HAVA creation:

"Design and produce poll books with flexible layout and precinct combination options that are in compliance with HAVA requirement to FLAG CERTAIN FIRST TIME VOTERS FOR IDENTIFICATION."

What's up with that?

[Andy_Stephenson]

1. This is a standard clause

"XXXX does not represent or warrent that the specified XXXX software will be free from errors or that all erros in any specified XXXX software will be corrected."

This contract looks familiar.

Remember what Jeffery Dean was doing. HE was developing the voter reg for King county. His schema was to attach "optionally" the voter reg information with the ballot. In point of fact...if you look at a King County ballot currently...it is numbered.

Diebold recenetly completed a no bid contract for King County's reg system.

This is troublesome...VB.NET or ASP.NET...Excel, Access DB, access to data table or views using an ODBC connection.

All MS Software, Access WTF???? They just don't get it.






:argh:

[shraby]

2. I don't understand why

if a voter is registered that voter should be flagged at all, first time voting or not.

The registration process should be totally separate from the voting process. Once the two are combined in any way that negates the secret ballot concept. As far as I can see, that is a no-no. It also opens the system to purge registrations indiscriminately.

4. Tools for determining number of ballots to order for each ballot style.
This would not be necessary with a computer because I believe bringing up a ballot would be a sort of loop code and would bring up a new blank ballot as long as one is needed.

Nothing except the particulars for different requirements (names of candidates, any referendums, etc) of the ballot itself should be able to be imported into the system and a system to count the ballots as that is all that is necessary to set up the election.

Once the software is written, there shouldn't have to be a monthly fee. The only justification for this is if it needed accessed and "adjustments" monthly and this isn't necessary as there is no upkeep beyond putting in the ballot specifics before elections.

Hope this little bit helps. I'm not an IT person, just using common sense.

[Stephanie]

3. I can't think of any reason to include registration info

That should be a completely different system. Are they asking for one vendor to supply several different functionalities on several different platforms? If they are tying ballot counting with registration records they must be in illegal territory.

[RedEagle]

4. Need lots more input on this, please

Especially the apparent connection between the registration and voting system.

I still don't think that there is any need- nor is it desirable- to have ANY connection or potential for such, with the voting system.

IT professionals, computer professionals, please weigh in here re: potential for abuse and cost of this contract.

The ultimate cost for 5 years is $300,000. Why on earth couldn't they hire someone(s), give them the specifications, (how the data must be juggled) with what programs, and let them develop and maintain it?