REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
November 5, 2019
FROM
BOB PAGE, Registrar of Voters, Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT
Title v
Amendment to State Revenue Agreement with the Secretary of State for Additional Voting System Replacement Funds
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve Amendment No. 1 to State Revenue Agreement No. 18G30136 (County Contract No. 19-188) with the State of California Secretary of State, to extend the term through June 30, 2022 and increase the amount of reimbursement to the County of San Bernardino by $3,818,754, from $5,903,000 to an amount not to exceed $9,721,754, for expenditures related to voting system replacement and election management system activities.
2. Authorize the Deputy Executive Officer, Community Services Group, or the Registrar of Voters to execute necessary documentation required by the State to receive the funds, subject to review by County Counsel.
(Presenter: Bob Page, Registrar of Voters, 387-2100)
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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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the amendment will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). As approved by the Board of Supervisors (Board) on March 19, 2019 (Item No. 35), the Revenue Agreement with the Secretary of State (SOS) initially provided $1 of State reimbursement funds for every $1 of County funds spent up to $5.9 million to purchase and implement the new, State-certified voting system. The amendment will change the local match requirement to $3 of State reimbursement funds for every $1 of County funds expended. The maximum county match required for this agreement is $2,951,500.
Additionally, the amendment will increase the total State reimbursement for voting system replacement by $2,951,500 from $5,903,000 to $8,854,500. Finally, the amendment would provide new funding for election management system (EMS) replacement or enhancement in the amount of $867,254, for a total amount of $9,721,754 in reimbursement funds available to the County. There is no local match requirement for the EMS funds.
Approval of the necessary budget adjustments to the Registrar of Voters’ (ROV) 2019-20 budget is not requested at this time, but will be included on a future quarterly countywide budget report presented to the Board for approval.
On June 11, 2019 (Item No. 106), the Board approved one-time funding in the amount of $30 million for the purchase and implementation of a new voting system. These State funds would augment the $30 million in Discretionary General Funding allocated to the project. If approved, this agreement will bring the total funding available for this project to $38.8 million.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The recommended State Revenue Agreement amendment will provide the County with additional funding to deliver modernized, easy-to-use and accessible voting solutions to voters and enable ROV to more efficiently conduct elections and manage voter records.
On June 27, 2018, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 1824, Chapter 38 (Voting System Replacement Contracts) allowing for the SOS to use funds appropriated in the Budget Act of 2018 for voting system replacement by awarding reimbursement contracts to counties based on the size of the county, the number of voters registered, and the SOS’s estimate of need for county voting equipment.
On February 27, 2019, the SOS announced that most of California’s voting systems would be decertified effective August 27, 2019, including the voting system the County was using at the time, and that these decertified voting systems cannot be used for any election after February 27, 2020.
On March 19, 2019 (Item No. 35), the Board authorized ROV to initiate a formal competitive procurement for a replacement voting system, approved an agreement with the SOS to reimburse the County up to $5.9 million for one-time expenditures related to the purchase and implementation of a new voting system.
The funding shall be used for:
• The purchase or lease of the following:
o A voting system certified conditionally approved by the SOS
o Electronic poll books certified by the SOS
o Ballot on demand systems certified by the SOS
o Vote by mail ballot drop boxes
o A remote accessible vote by mail system certified or conditionally approved by the SOS
o Telecommunication technologies to facilitate electronic connection, for the purpose of voter registration, between polling places, vote centers, and the office of the county elections official or the SOS’s office
o Vote by mail ballot sorting and processing equipment
• Research and development of a new voting system using only nonproprietary software and firmware with disclosed source code that has not been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, but that would result in a voting system certified by the Secretary of State to comply with the California Voting System Standards.
The ROV began the procurement process by releasing an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) to select and purchase a State-certified replacement voting system. On July 9, 2019 (Item No. 40), the Board approved an agreement with Dominion Voting Systems, Inc. for the purchase of a new voting system in the amount of $31,939,045, for the 15-year period from July 9, 2019 through July 8, 2034, with one five-year renewal option. The new voting system was implemented and being used for the first time with today’s consolidated election for governing body offices for Cucamonga Valley Water District, Victor Valley Union High School District, and West Valley Water District.
Additionally, ROV is in the process of procuring new mobile ballot printers, electronic poll books, and mail ballot sorters that are compatible with the Dominion system for use starting in 2020.
After the County acquired its new voting system, the 2019 State Budget Act provided additional one-time funding for voting system replacement activities. The amount allocated for each county is based on county size, number of precincts, and voting equipment needs. The 2019 Budget Act modifies the match requirement for both allocation of funding to the following:
• Counties with 50 or fewer precincts will require no match of funds.
• Counties with 51 or more precincts will require a 3:1 or 75%:25% match of funds.
The 2019 Budget Act also extends the period during which County expenses are eligible for reimbursement by one year for a new total eligibility period of April 29, 2015 through June 30, 2022. Finally, the 2019 Budget Act provides new funding for county EMS replacement activities. ROV will identify eligible activities and develop a plan to use this additional funding before June 30, 2022.
Recommendation No. 2 would authorize the Deputy Executive Officer, Community Services Group, or the Registrar of Voters to execute the Activity Reports in order to expeditiously receive State reimbursement funds.
PROCUREMENT
Not Applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Penny Alexander-Kelley, Chief Assistant County Counsel, 387-4270) on October 7, 2019; Finance (Elias Duenas, Administrative Analyst, 387-4052) on October 15, 2019; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on October 15, 2019.