REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
July 9, 2024
FROM
STEPHENIE SHEA, Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with Westbound Communications Inc. for Voter Education Outreach Activities
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 22-158 with Westbound Communications Inc., to assist with voter education outreach programs, increasing the contract amount by $1,822,000 from $2,954,000 to $4,776,000, and extending the term by two years, for a total term of March 1, 2022 through February 28, 2027.
(Presenter: Stephenie Shea, Registrar of Voters, 387-2100)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this recommendation will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). A portion of the increased contract amount of $1,822,000 for the additional two-year term. A will be billed to local jurisdictions - cities, school districts, and special districts - based upon the number of contests on the ballot and the number of registered voters for each contest. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Registrar of Voters’ (ROV) 2024-25 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amendment No. 2 will continue to allow Westbound Communications, Inc. (Westbound) to provide voter education outreach strategy planning, including design and development of various outreach programs, advertising buys and media strategies for poll worker recruitment, civic engagement, and general voter education outreach; design, development and management of public outreach events, media events, and materials; social media monitoring, tracking and response; and BallotMobile: Traveling Voter Education (BallotMobile) outreach and staffing.
On March 1, 2022 (Item No. 53), as the result of Request for Proposals No. ROV122-ROV-4418 issued on December 22, 2021, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Contract No. 22-158 (Contract) with Westbound for a Voter Education Program in the amount of $2,954,000, effective March 1, 2022 through February 28, 2025.
On December 19, 2023 (Item No. 83), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to the Contract to amend the Scope of Work to include the County’s BallotMobile: Traveling Voter Education Outreach, advertising, and support activities and update payment terms to a Net 30, allowing the new BallotMobile program to be added to the voter education outreach strategy in 2023. Westbound planned and implemented this outreach program, including project management, scheduling, design and also helped staff the tour stops to share voter education information.
For the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election, the BallotMobile began its inaugural voter education tour across the county, visiting 27 cities, towns and locations in 55 days to educate voters and provide voter registration opportunities. The BallotMobile program has been a success and continues to generate sustained interest from stakeholders within the County, which has led to increased requests for BallotMobile outreach activities.
The recommendation to exercise the two one-year renewal options, extending the Contract term from February 28, 2025 to February 28, 2027, will allow ROV to continue to utilize Westbound for voter education outreach planning and implementation, and generate new ideas for voter education outreach, such as outreach strategies to engage schools in registration drives, and work on strategies with other partners to increase voter registration and civic engagement. It will also assist ROV with keeping up with the increased demand and have continuity within the BallotMobile program through the 2026 elections.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jolena Grider, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on June 12, 2024; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on June 18, 2024; Finance (Elias Duenas, Administrative Analyst, 387-4052) on June 18, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on June 20, 2024.