REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 1, 2022
FROM
MICHAEL JIMENEZ, Deputy Executive Officer, Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Westbound Communications, Inc. for Voter Education and Outreach Activities.
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve a contract with Westbound Communications, Inc. for voter education and outreach activities, in an amount not to exceed $2,954,000, for a period of March 1, 2022 through February 28, 2025 with two one-year renewal options.
(Presenter: Michael Jimenez, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-4444)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
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 item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). In practice Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) traditionally finances the majority of the costs of an election. A portion of election expenses are 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.
For each election, the Registrar of Voters (ROV) and Westbound Communications, Inc. (Westbound) will agree upon a project plan of services for the election based on the County’s needs and available internal resources. The recommended contract is for a not to exceed total amount of $2,954,000 for the three-year period. Westbound will only be paid for services agreed upon in each project plan. Additionally, Westbound will buy advertisements for ROV as directed and will be reimbursed for those costs. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in ROV’s 2021-22 budget for the June 7, 2022 Statewide Direct Primary Election and will be included in future recommended budgets based upon an evaluation of ROV’s voter education needs in that budget year and available internal County communications resources.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The recommended Contract will enable ROV to continue to educate voters about their options for registering to vote and casting a ballot in future elections as well as the measures used by ROV and the Secretary of State to ensure the results are accurate, secure and transparent.
ROV contracted with Westbound to provide voter education services in the 2020 Presidential General Election and the 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election. On August 11, 2020 (Item No. 21) and January 26, 2021 (Item No. 33), the Board approved amendment nos. 1 and 3 to Contract No. 20-621 with Westbound for voter education services in the amount of $270,064. On July 13, 2021 (Item No. 48), the Board approved a new contract (Contract No. 21-548) with Westbound for continued voter education and outreach services for the September 14, 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election. ROV has been satisfied with Westbound’s services and performance.
ROV and Westbound will continue to collaborate with a diverse group of community stakeholders to help distribute election information to eligible voters throughout the County, including those that are traditionally hard to reach. Westbound will continue to assist ROV with education materials, media relations, messaging on social media platforms and other electronic services and paid advertisements. Westbound will update the voter education and outreach program it helped ROV develop for the 2020 Presidential General and 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Elections.
The voter education program will include the following information about ROV administration of elections:
• ROV must mail a ballot to all active registered voters
• ROV must offer the Secretary of State’s ballot tracking service to voters
• ROV will operate polling places throughout the County on Election Day
• Voters may cast their voted ballots at mail ballot drop off locations for the four weeks prior to Election Day
• Voters may cast their voted ballots through the U.S. Postal Service so long as the return envelope is postmarked on or before Election Day and received by ROV no later than seven days after Election Day
• ROV will provide early voting services at ROV’s San Bernardino office and five more locations
ROV recommends to execute a new contract with Westbound to help ROV fulfill this community education need for election information and statutory requirements for the next five years. Any proposed contract amendment would be presented to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
If the Board approves the recommended contract, ROV and Westbound will meet to develop and agree by March 15, 2022 upon a project plan for the June 7, 2022 Statewide Direct Primary Election. Usage of Westbound is recommended while the County Administrative Office continues to ramp up the County’s internal central communications strategy.
PROCUREMENT
On December 22, 2021, a Request for Proposals (ROV122-ROV-4418) was released to solicit proposals for a Voter Education Program for a five-year contract period. ROV received a proposal from one vendor (Westbound Communications, Inc.). A review of the proposal was completed, and it was determined that Westbound’s proposal met the requirements of the RFP. Both ROV and Purchasing agreed to recommend awarding Westbound the contract.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jolena Grider, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on January 31, 2022; Purchasing Department (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on February 4, 2022; Finance (Elias Duenas, Administrative Analyst, 387-4378) on February 7, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on February 7, 2022.