REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 9, 2024
FROM
STEPHENIE SHEA, Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with KNOWiNK, LLC for Poll Book Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve Amendment No. 3 to Contract No. 19-696 with KNOWiNK, LLC., for poll book services, amending the scope of work to include cachebox services of $4,984, and including a change order process that increases the contract amount by no more than $100,000, for a total increase of $104,984, from $10,658,764, to an amount not to exceed $10,763,748, with no change to the term of October 22, 2019 through October 21, 2029.
2. Authorize the Registrar of Voters or Assistant Registrar of Voters to approve change orders to the contract, so long as the total change order amounts do not exceed $100,000 as stated in Recommendation No. 1, subject to review by the Assistant Executive Officer, Deputy Executive Officer and County Counsel.
3. Direct the Registrar of Voters or Assistant Registrar of Voters to submit the change orders to the Clerk of Board of Supervisors within 30 days of approval.
(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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item may result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Change orders are expected to be minimal. Sufficient appropriation exists in the Registrar of Voters’ (ROV) 2023-24 budget to fund any change orders. Any necessary budget adjustments for future fiscal years will be presented to the Board of Supervisors (Board) in a future budget report.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On October 22, 2019 (Item No. 39), the Board approved Contract No. 19-696 (Contract) with KNOWiNK, LLC. (KNOWiNK), for the purchase of State-certified electronic poll books, in an amount not to exceed $7,140,534, for the five-year period of October 22, 2019 through October 21, 2024. This included software and hardware components, licensing, warranty, training, and election support services.
The poll books are certified and tested by the Secretary of State to uphold election security; serve as an electronic method to enable poll workers to efficiently check-in voters on election day; and help to identify the correct ballot type for each voter. They are not part of the election management system, which is not connected to the internet.
On March 29, 2022 (Item No. 49), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to the Contract to purchase fixed assets, including six Poll Synch Kits, cabling, installation and supplies, to increase the capacity for more efficient data and software updates on poll books. Amendment No. 1 also increased the contract amount by $77,230, from $7,140,534 to $7,217,764, with no change to the contract term of October 22, 2019 through October 21, 2024.
On August 22, 2023 (Item No. 74), the Board approved Amendment No. 2 to the Contract to update vendor duties related to data management and to purchase a single tenant cloud environment to increase speed and the robustness of the system, allowing the poll pads to meet the demand requirements and increase responsiveness. Amendment No. 2 also extended the contract term by five years, with the total term from October 22, 2019 through October 21, 2029, and increased the contract amount by $3,441,000, from $7,217,764 to an amount not to exceed $10,658,764.
Amendment No. 3 would amend the scope of work to include cachebox services to expedite the distribution of initial electronic roster files to the poll pads. This would allow the load of the electronic roster files of up to 84 poll books at once, rather than individually, and assist with election preparation. The recommended amendment would also include a change order process to define the process, with a total change order increase not to exceed $100,000. At times, legislative changes require additional work and the update will outline the process and anticipated increases to the total contract amount.
PROCUREMENT
The Contract is the result of a competitive procurement. On March 10, 2019 (Item No. 35), the Board approved the use of a formal, competitive Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) procurement process to select and purchase a State-certified replacement voting system. On March 28, 2019, ROV issued ITN No. ROV119-ROV3324 in conjunction with the Purchasing Agent. ROV received no proposals for electronic poll books. On July 17, 2019, ROV reissued ITN No. ROV120-ROV3459 for electronic poll books. The ROV received proposals from two State-certified vendors (KNOWiNK and Tenex Software Solutions, Inc.). The evaluation committee recommended KNOWiNK for a contract based on the overall best value to the County. Competitive procurement options will be considered at the time of renewal.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jolena Grider, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 14, 2023; Purchasing (Veronica Pedace, Buyer III, 387-2198) on December 14, 2023; Finance (Elias Duenas, Administrative Analyst, 387-4378) on December 18, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on December 19, 2023.