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June 16, 2003

Ms. Jenny Olberding
Purchasing Division
Boulder County
2020 13

Street

Boulder, CO 80302

Re:

RFP # 4437-03
Request for Proposals for a New Voting Tabulation System

Dear Ms. Olberding:

Recent state and federal legislation is forcing many counties, including Boulder County, to
replace existing punch card systems. The County recognizes this opportunity to address
additional election needs and to lay a foundation for a long term, efficient, secure election
system.

Enclosed is Hart InterCivic's proposal in response to Boulder County's Request for Proposals for
a New Voting Tabulation System, as released by Boulder County. The Hart InterCivic eSlate

Electronic Voting System, along with the election and technical expertise of the Hart staff, offers
Boulder County a voting solution to meet the County's specific voting requirements.

The eSlate System is a comprehensive, integrated system that includes the eSlate Direct Record
Electronic (DRE) component and Hart's Ballot Now for absentee/provisional mail balloting.
Our proposed solution is a value-rich, multi-faceted architecture surrounded by four key
components project management, training, service/support, and voter outreach. The eSlate
System provides a secure, accurate, lightweight, and durable DRE voting system that is easy to
use for both voters and election officials and offers a low total cost of ownership. Key features of
the eSlate System for Boulder County include the following.

Simple and efficient storage and warehous ing of the voting units

Secure and simple use in the polling place

Accessibility features to meet the needs of all voters

Project management, training, service and support, and voter outreach

Full integration of DRE and absentee/ mail voting applications

Integration with the County's existing Sequoia Integrity Election Management
System

An absentee/by mail solution that offers flexible ballot printing and can easily be
adapted to Boulder County's absentee volume variations

Lower total cost of ownership

Hart InterCivic has provided election products and services to counties throughout the nation
since 1912. We provide turnkey election management services, as well as ballot formatting and
production, field support and troubleshooting, Election Day support, by-mail election
management, and a wide range of other election products and services. Hart InterCivic
introduced the eSlate Electronic Voting System in 2000, and has since sold nearly 20,000 units
to jurisdictions representing a total of more than five million registered voters. In the November
2002 elections, nearly one million ballots were successfully cast and accurately recorded on the
eSlate System.

In all future discussions involving this Request for Proposal, I will be the person legally
authorized to obligate Hart InterCivic, Inc. and to conduct any/all future negotiations on behalf
of Hart. I may be contacted at the following address:

Mr. Bill Stotesbery
Vice President, Marketing and Sales
Hart InterCivic
15500 Wells Port Drive
Austin, TX 78728
Phone: 800-223-4278
Fax: 800-437-3532
Email: bstotesbery@hartic.com

We understand that the selection of an electronic voting system is very important to all
stakeholders in Boulder County. You are buying more than voting machines. You want the
assurance that you are procuring a complete solution that will result in accurate, secure, and
efficient elections, while at the same time, providing the best value to the County's taxpayers.
Hart InterCivic assures this through a complete voting system solution and a dedicated team that
is ready to serve you. We look forward to partnering with you on this important procurement.

The balance of this document provides complete details describing the eSlate Electronic Voting
System and our proposed approach. In addition, we provide an Executive Summary detailing the
benefits and features of selecting Hart and the eSlate System. We are prepared to answer any
questions you may have and look forward to the opportunity to meet with you in the planned
presentation sessions.

Sincerely,

William D. Stotesbery
Vice President, Marketing and Sales

bs/vm

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office is seeking a new voting tabulation

system to replace the current Datavote punch card system. The County requires a
fully integrated voting system, with a DRE component for Early Voting and

Election Day plus an optical scan component for absentee/by mail/provisional

voting. The solution must meet federal and State certification requirements, as

well as provide a superior level of service and support to the County election staff
and voters.

The process by which elections are conducted is the foundation of the
public's trust in its governmental institutions. Elections must be fair,
accurate, and private, with no margin for error and no possibility of
tampering or abuse. At the same time, elections, like any other public
program, must be conducted efficiently and cost effectively.

This document details Hart InterCivic's response to Boulder County's
Request for Proposal No. 4437-03, "New Voting Tabulation System."
Hart InterCivic proposes to deliver to Boulder County our eSlate
Electronic Voting System, supported by a comprehensive program of
support and training. The eSlate System is fully certified in the State of
Colorado and meets all requirements of the Help America Vote Act.

Scope and Objectives of the Proposal

Our proposed solution includes every aspect of the voting system
requested by Boulder County, including delivery, acceptance, and
support of the DRE and optical scan system components; project
planning and management; hardware and software training for Boulder
County Clerk and Recorder staff; training for poll workers; service and
support prior to, during, and after elections; and voter education and
outreach.

Hart InterCivic's response to Boulder County's RFP has the following
key elements:

Hart InterCivic's eSlate Electronic Voting System will be

deployed by Boulder County for use in the County's
approximately 250 polling places on Election Day and in the
County's 3 Early Voting locations. This will include a control
unit (Judges Booth Controller) and five DRE voting devices
(eSlates) at each polling place.

One voting device at each polling place will be fully

accessible to voters with disabilities.

The Ballot Now application will provide printed ballots for

Absentee-by-Mail/provisional voting and a scanning/imaging
solution for efficient tabulation and integration with the
cumulative results.

"We were very pleased with the
eSlate's performance, and both

poll workers and voters have

given us a strong vote of

confidence on this system, Ballot
setup was very intuitive, and

results were tabulated quickly. "

Sheri Lachetta, General

Registrar for the City of
Charlottesville, VA.

Hart InterCivic has established
an aggressive research and

development operation

supporting the eSlate Electronic
Voting System. Located in

Boulder County (Lafayette), the

R&D organization includes

software engineers,
manufacturing specialists,

computer scientists and others

dedicated to constant

improvement and innovation in
the eSlate System.

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All ballot formatting, vote recording, tabulation, and

reporting components of Hart InterCivic's eSlate Electronic
Voting System have been tested and certified by the National
Association of State Election Directors (NASED)
Independent Testing Authority (ITA) and the Colorado
Secretary of State.

The eSlate deployment program includes project
management, equipment storage and deployment planning, a
comprehensive curriculum for training and voter education
and outreach, and on-site support.

The deployment program also includes a comprehensive
Election Day support program. Boulder County election staff,
poll workers, and voters will be supported by a team of
experts from Hart InterCivic, providing professional project
management, a highly developed and well-documented
training curriculum, and award-winning voter education and
outreach supported by GBSM, a prestigious Denver-based
public affairs/communications firm

All Hart InterCivic hardware and software is covered by a
three-year warranty with an extended warranty option
available to the County.

Why Hart InterCivic's eSlate System is the

Right Choice for Boulder County

There are several reasons the Hart InterCivic eSlate System is the right
choice for Boulder County.

1. Hart InterCivic is an election leader in Colorado and across the

nation. Hart InterCivic has provided election products and services
since 1912, including turnkey election services in multiple states,
including ballot formatting and generation, polling place set-up,
pre-Election Day and Election Day equipment support (including
multi-county Election Day Support Command Centers), tabulation
room management, integration of multiple voting systems,
publishing state election law books, and much more.

Throughout our history, we have been proud to serve Colorado
counties with election products and services, as well as other
solutions that have assisted Colorado counties meet the growing
needs of the citizens they serve. In addition our eSlate Research
and Development Center is based in Boulder County, located in
Lafayette. This proximity is a distinct advantage in meeting the
needs of Boulder County.

In November 2002, Hart was one of three companies

presented

with The Samaritan Center Ethics in Business Award. This award

"The data [from exit polls conducted
during the November 2002 Harris
County elections] show a very positive

reaction from voters in the field,

across all demographic groupings." Dr.

Richard Murray, The Center for Public
Policy, The University of Houston.

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was established to honor those "good Samaritans" who practice the
highest ethical principles in their daily business.

2. The eSlate is a proven solution. Since introducing the unique

eSlate electronic voting solution in 2000, Hart InterCivic has sold
nearly 20,000 eSlate units to jurisdictions in multiple states
(including Colorado) totaling 4,000 precincts and more than 5
million registered voters. In November 2002, more than one
million voters cast ballots on the eSlate System.

The eSlate System has been selected after extensive review by two
of the top five counties in the United States Orange County, CA
(the fifth largest county) and Harris County, TX (the third largest
county). The eSlate installation in Harris County, Texas, is the
nation's largest single county implementation.

The system is currently used in Arapahoe County, Colorado, for
early voting and has been used successfully in demonstration
elections in the Boulder County communities of Superior and
Longmont.

3. eSlate embodies sound technological advances, providing

accuracy, security, and reliability. The eSlate System is the only
system to combine a state-of-the-art interface, a highly secure, real
time non-Windows operating system at the polling place, and the
convenience and integration of WindowsTM-based election
management software. The eSlate uses technology adapted from
the medical instruments industry to provide 100 percent accuracy at
all times, unlike touch screen systems that may suffer from
imprecise registration, the need to recalibrate, limited accessibility
for special needs voters, and limited flexibility in ballot design.

The eSlate's PrecisionVoteTM design means that Boulder County
NEVER has to worry about calibration problems causing voting
errors. Every time a vote is cast, it is recorded in triplicate in
physically separated data storage, ensuring data integrity.
Furthermore, PrecisionVote provides the highest level of assurance
that voter intent has been accurately recorded, eliminating
selection errors caused by inadvertent bumps or imprecision on a
touch screen.

The eSlate system was also designed with integrated security
features including automatic processes verifying and authenticating
the output of each component through multiple, independent data
paths through the system. Proprietary database structures protect
the ballot layout and tally databases from functioning within any
other applications. The eSlate DREs rely on a highly secure real-
time non-Windows operating system in the polling place.

4. The eSlate is accessible and easy to use for all voters. In exit polls

conducted during eSlate elections, more than 95% of the voters,
across all age groups, consistently ranked the eSlate easy-to-use. In

"During Early Voting, the eSlate
performed flawlessly. Voters

and poll workers consistently

expressed strong support for

the new system. Visually
impaired and other special

needs voters were particularly

vocal in their endorsement of

the system." Robert Parten,
Tarrant County elections

Administrator.

The eSlate's success in the
Harris County November

2002 election led County

Clerk Beverly Kaufman to
state: "We selected the eSlate

System because we believed

it was the best system on the

market, and our experience in
this week's election confirmed

our decision. We also were

impressed by Hart InterCivic's

service, support and training,
and throughout the months of

careful implementation, Hart

InterCivic always met or

exceeded our expectations."

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Boulder County, voters in the City of Superior used the eSlate
System during the March 2002 municipal election. In that election,
99% of the voters rated the eSlate easy to use.

Furthermore, the eSlate has been designed to meet the needs of all
voters, including those with special needs. The eSlate System's
accessibility features were ranked first among election systems
reviewed in the November issue of AccessWorld Magazine.

5. eSlate's durability and design makes storage and warehousing

simple. Storage and warehousing are simplified because of the
efficient design and durable construction of the voting units and
booths. eSlates are designed to meet military specifications for
durability, and are routinely subjected to various stress tests to
confirm the effectiveness of the design. The voting units and booths
have also proven themselves to be sturdy and easy to maintain. No
special environmental, building, or power accommodations are
necessary, and eSlates can be reset, data archived, and upgrades
installed through the exterior port connection without opening the
eSlate's case.

6. Boulder County poll workers will benefit from eSlate's design-for-

simplicity. The eSlate System's lightweight, efficient architecture,
and unique polling place management features make it the leader in
ease-of-use for poll workers. Weighing just 5.2 pounds, eSlate is the
lightest weight system on the market. Opening and closing the polls
takes minutes and equipment is designed for fast set-up and
breakdown. With eSlate, polls open and close in minutes with the
push of a button and there are no activators or smart cards to
complicate the process for poll workers and voters, eliminating a key
point of failure and a potential security weakness.

Poll workers are spared the complexity and potential confusion of
multiple activation devices, individual machine programming,
harvesting votes from standalone machine at the end of voting,
individually deactivating each machine. There is no requirement for
additional poll workers to initialize the voting unit for each and every
individual voter, resulting in significant cost savings.

The eSlate System's unique polling place management features
allow poll workers to monitor the status of each voting booth,
identifying open booths, active booths, and enabling the voter to
silently signal for assistance. Poll workers can also monitor system
power status, the number of votes cast, and the status of voter access
codes, among other features.

Dana DeBeauvoir, County Clerk and Chief Election Official of
Travis County, Texas, praised eSlate's easy setup and operation:
"Our election judges and poll workers were delighted with how

Ballot Now, the eSlate System's absentee/by mail system was used in Longmont, Colorado's special

municipal election. Because all balloting was done by mail, voter surveys were not collected.

"I personally found the

eSlate system very easy to use
and I have received a great deal

of positive feedback from Ward

13 voters about their Election

Day experience. I was especially
impressed with how well elderly

voters adapted to this electronic

voting system." The Hon. Joe

Cimperman, Ward 13
Councilmen, Cleveland, Ohio.

"...we do rate the eSlate as the best

machine we looked at. It scored
highest in overall usability and our

testers liked the easy to use linear

ballot and the fact that audio and

visual voting can be used
simultaneously. We also found the

eSlate to have the highest level of

cross-disability access."

AccessWorld Magazine, November
2002.

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simple the eSlate System is to set up at the polling place and manage
throughout the voting process. Voters were enthusiastic, and Hart's
support throughout the process, including final count and reporting,
was exceptional."

7. Ballot Now is an innovative application that combines state of the

art digital imaging and intelligent ballot management for
absentee/mail voting. Ballot Now is a fully integrated part of the
eSlate System. Paper ballots are formatted and generated from the
same database as DRE ballots, and both DRE and Ballot Now create
cast vote records that are structured identically, enabling seamless
tabulation and reporting.

Ballot Now is highly scalable, and can easily be adapted as
Boulder County's absentee volume increases. Ballots are printed
on-demand, using commercial off-the shelf printers, or printed by
commercial printing firms from the electronic files produced by
the system. The highly accurate and reliable Ballot Now
application includes numerous features that increase the efficiency
of the Absentee-by-Mail process, including the unique on-screen
resolution capability for resolving voter intent.

Conclusion

We understand that the selection of an electronic voting system is very
important to all stakeholders in Boulder County. You are buying more
than voting machines. You want the assurance that you are procuring a
complete solution that will result in accurate, secure, and efficient
elections while, at the same time, providing the best value to the
County's taxpayers. Hart InterCivic assures this through a complete
election system solution and a dedicated professional team that is ready
to serve you. We look forward to partnering with you on this very
important procurement, and we will provide responsive, attentive
service.

The balance of this document provides complete details describing the
eSlate System and our proposed approach. We are prepared to answer
any questions you may have and look forward to the opportunity to
meet with you at the community demonstrations and presentation
sessions.

"I was very impressed with how
Ballot Now performed for us," said

Joe Kidd, Director of the Lucas

County (Ohio) Board of Elections.

"The scanning and tabulation of the
absentee ballots was very smooth

and fast, much quicker than with our

current system. The support and

flexibility of Hart's project manager
and support personnel was

outstanding. We had a last minute

change in how we wanted to view

the reports and they were able to
easily accommodate our request."

"Hart InterCivic was presented with
The Samaritan Center Ethics in

Business Award honoring those

"good Samaritans" who practice the
highest ethical principles in their

daily business. The company was

honored at an awards dinner held

at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center at
The University of Texas at Austin

on November 12th paying tribute to

Central Texas businesses, non-

profit organizations and individuals
for their ethical standards and

behavior."