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REQUIREMENTS AND SUBMITTAL
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VOTING TABULATION
R
ESPONSE TO
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IV,
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EQUIREMENTS AND
S
UBMITTAL
The County of Boulder can be assured of a secure, accurate, and durable DRE voting system that
is easy to use for both voters and Election Officials, and offers a low total cost of ownership. Hart
InterCivic proposes the eSlateTM Solution, a value-rich, multi-faceted DRE architecture supported
by four key components project management, training, service/support and voter outreach.
1.0 CERTIFICATION
OF
SYSTEM
1.1 Requirements
A. Colorado law requires election officials to procure only voting equipment
that has been certified by the Colorado Secretary of State. Boulder
County will consider proposals from vendors with systems approved for
use in this state by the Colorado Secretary of State and from vendors
with systems that expect to receive Colorado certification by contract
award. Vendors shall be familiar with the State certification process,
including the Independent Testing Authority requirements and shall
receive certification of all components of their system prior to
demonstration to Citizens Review Committee.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System has been certified by the National Association of State
Election Directors (NASED) and the Colorado Secretary of State, including all
ballot formatting, vote recording, tabulation, and reporting components. For this
response, we are proposing the eSlate System 2.1, certified in Colorado on
September 9, 2002. We are currently in the process of submitting the eSlate
System Version 3.0 for ITA testing and NASED certification. It is our intent to
offer Boulder County eSlate Version 3.0 upon certification by the Colorado
Secretary of State.
All answers in this response reflect capabilities of the eSlate Version 2.1, unless
Version 3.0 is specifically referenced.
Hart is familiar with Federal and Colorado certification requirements, and
dedicates a full-time professional staff member to managing the certification
process for the eSlate System. Hart's familiarity with these requirements is
demonstrated by our successful history of NASED and Colorado certification.
Hart InterCivic's eSlate System is certified in 19 states in addition to Colorado.
B. In addition, the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder supports the Voting
Systems Standards of the Federal Election Commission including HAVA
requirements and the testing required by the Colorado Secretary of State
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and subsequent testing programs of the National Association of State
Election Directors (NASED). Vendors are responsible for being informed
of these standards and in compliance with them.
Hart InterCivic Response
Hart InterCivic maintains constant awareness of the Voting System Standards of
the Federal Election Commission, the testing required by the Colorado Secretary
of State, and the subsequent testing programs of NASED. As noted previously,
Hart maintains a full-time professional resource responsible for managing our
certification process and maintaining a constant awareness of certification
processes.
Hart's successful history of ITA certification demonstrates that Hart has the
understanding, knowledge, and capability necessary to certify future versions of
the products, even if the certification requirements are updated. Hart personnel
have participated in the release of the new Federal Elections Commission (FEC)
standards. Hart is also playing an active role in the development of the IEEE
voting system standards. These and other activities provide assurance that the
Hart certification support staff remains ahead of the implementation of any
national certification requirements.
Hart InterCivic is also aware of Help America Vote Act requirements, and is
actively monitoring the implementation of the Act. Exhibit IV-1: How eSlate
Meets Help America Vote Act Requirements, describes the eSlate Systems
compliance with the primary requirements of Section 301.
Sec. 301. Voting Systems
Standards
Responsiveness of the eSlate System
Permit the voter to verify selections
before the ballot is cast.
Voters are required to view the eSlate's Ballot
Summary Screen, which lists all of the voter's
selections and enables voter verification, before
the ballot is cast.
Provide the voter with the opportunity to
change/correct the ballot before the ballot
is cast and counted.
Changes can be made at any time before the
ballot is cast.
Notify the voter of overvotes and provide
the voter with the opportunity to correct
the ballot before the ballot is cast and
counted.
The eSlate System does not permit overvotes.
The voting system shall produce a record
with an audit capacity for such system.
All components of the eSlate System create
independent audit logs that can be stored
electronically or printed on paper.
The voting system shall produce a
Each time a voter casts a ballot, a Cast Vote
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Sec. 301. Voting Systems
Standards
Responsiveness of the eSlate System
permanent paper record with a manual
audit capacity for such system.
Record is created and stored in non-volatile
FLASH memory in three physically separate
locations. Paper copies of Cast Vote Records can
be printed to provide a manual audit trail for each
election.
The voting system shall provide the voter
with an opportunity to change the ballot
or correct any error before the permanent
paper record is produced.
Changes can be made at any time before the
ballot is cast.
The paper record produced shall be
available as an official record for any
recount conducted with respect to any
election in which the system is used.
Paper copies of Cast Vote Records can be
maintained as an official record for any recount.
The voting system shall be accessible for
individuals with disabilities, including
non-visual accessibility for the blind and
visually impaired, in a manner that
provides the same opportunity for access
and participation (including privacy and
independence) as for other voters.
The eSlate System is fully accessible for both
visually and mobility impaired voters.
The voting system shall provide
alternative language accessibility
pursuant to the requirements of section
203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. 1973aa1a).
The eSlate System provides English and Spanish,
as required in the Boulder County RFP, as well as
additional languages (including character-based
languages).
The error rate of the voting system in
counting ballots shall comply with the
error rate standards established under
Section 3.2.1 of the voting systems
standards issued by the FEC.
The eSlate System is fully tested and certified by
NASED.
Exhibit IV-1: How eSlate Meets Help America Vote Act Requirements. Boulder County
can be assured that the eSlate System complies with all provisions of the Help America
Vote Act (HAVA). HAVA's Section 301 requirements are shown above.
1.2 Proposer's Response
b. How do you propose to meet these requirements? Address all
requirements listed above, making sure to include item(s) listed below:
a. Will you meet these requirements?
Yes X
No
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(1) If the system you are proposing has been certified by the Secretary of
State, please submit a copy of that certification. For each test agency:
Provide a detailed description of all testing to date.
List dates for each certification phase completed.
List all problems during certification with a detailed explanation
of failures and resolutions resulting in the successful acceptance by
the certification process.
Hart InterCivic Response
Our initial certification in Colorado was completed December 27, 2000. Exhibit
IV-2, eSlate Colorado Certification History, presents the dates for each
certification phase. Copies of the certification documents are included in
Attachment 1, Documentation of System Certification.
The system currently certified in Colorado has been through the complete ITA
testing process. Exhibit IV-3 presents the history of testing to date for eSlate
System 2.1.
Date of Colorado
Certification
System BOSS Tally eSlate JBC
Ballot
Now
Servo
27-Dec-00
2.2
2.3
1.10
1.10
12-Jan-01
2.7
2.7
1.13
1.14
1.3
31-May-02 2.0
2.8
2.8
1.15
1.15
1.4
1.01
9-Sep-02 2.1
2.9
2.9
1.16
1.16
1.5
1.02
18-Oct-02
2.1
2.9
Exhibit IV-2: eSlate Colorado Certification History. Since the eSlate was
initially certified in Colorado, several versions have been successfully tested and
certified.
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eSlate System
Component
NASED Qualification Number
Responsible ITA
BOSS 2.9.0.4
03040000021 - 1990
Ciber
Tally 2.9.0.8
03040000021B - 1990
Ciber
Ballot Now 1.5
03040000021A - 1990
Ciber
SERVO 1.02
03040000021A - 1990
Ciber
Precinct Voting System
(firmware) 1.16
03040000021 - 1990
Wyle
Exhibit IV-3: eSlate Version 2.1 Testing History. The eSlate Version 2.1, currently certified in
Colorado, has been fully tested through the NASED certification process.
No issues were encountered during certification.
(2) If the system you are proposing has not been certified by the Secretary of
State, please:
Describe where you are in the process of receiving certification
and when you expect to receive the certification.
Provide a summary of your testing progress with scheduled and/or
completed certification dates.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System 2.1, proposed in this response, is fully certified.
Initial components of eSlate System 3.0 were submitted to ITA on May 19, 2003.
Additional components will be submitted as is practical for ITA's process.
Submission of all components expected to be complete by mid June.
2.0
COMPLIANCE WITH ELECTION LAWS
2.1 Requirement
The voting system shall comply with all provisions of Federal, State and local
election laws and regulations, and any future modifications to those laws and
regulations, which include HAVA.
2.2 Proposer's Response
a. Will you meet these requirements?
Yes X No
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b. How do you propose to meet this requirement?
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System complies with all Federal, Colorado, and local election laws
and regulations, including HAVA requirements as indicated in Exhibit IV-1, and
will adapt to these laws and regulations as they change.
Hart InterCivic's Development Center in Boulder County maintains an active
involvement in national standards initiatives in order to ensure a thorough
understanding of changing requirements and emerging trends. Hart also monitors
election law changes at the state and local levels where the eSlate Electronic
Voting System is certified, as well as continuing communication with Elections
Officials at eSlate installations. For example, Hart InterCivic's Vice President of
Engineering and Development serves as Project Manager of the IEEE Voting
Systems Standards Project.
Changes to the eSlate System required as a result of changing Federal, state, and
local election laws and regulations are added to the eSlate Solution Roadmap,
assigned to the Hart InterCivic Development Center, and incorporated into the
appropriate component of the eSlate System. This revised functionality is
delivered to the installation through a regular scheduled release of hardware,
firmware, and software upgrades under the terms of the annual licensing and
maintenance agreement.
3.0
OPERATING SYSTEM COMPATIBILITY
3.1 Requirement
The Boulder County Clerk & Recorder operates in a Microsoft Windows XP
on the PC, Windows 2000 Server for all server software. The vendor's
proposed system shall operate seamlessly within this environment.
3.2 Proposer's Response
a. Will you meet these requirements?
Yes X No
b. How do you propose to meet this requirement?
Hart InterCivic Response
Hart InterCivic is in the process of adding Windows XP as a supported platform
for the eSlate System. The Ballot Origination Software System (BOSS), Ballot
Now, Tally, and SERVO applications are presently designed to run in the
Windows NT/2000 environment and are delivered on computer systems (PCs)
with compatible operating systems.
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4.0
ELECTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The Boulder County Clerk & Recorder currently uses Sequoia Voting
Systems Integrity Software to maintain voters, parties, streets, districts,
voting locations (polls), candidates/measures, voter counts and precinct
information. The system is also used to generate ballot types for each
election. Precincts within each ballot type are consolidated into election
precincts, and a voting location is assigned to each. The Integrity Software
has the capability of managing multiple ballot types in an election precinct.
All election data is stored using Microsoft's SQL Server 2000 database
software. The process of creating the election structure will remain a
function of the Integrity software.
Hart InterCivic Response
Ballots are generated using the eSlate System's Ballot Origination Software
System (BOSS), a Windows-based application that allows election officials to
manage election data and format and generate ballots. Data will be imported from
Integrity into BOSS, including jurisdiction data, election data, and relationships
(for example, assignment of precincts to voting locations). The import will be
accomplished using a highly automated import wizard.
Hart InterCivic maintains an engineering and integration team staffed with
specialists in database and software management. The engineering and
integration team has created several import wizards that provide highly
automated, "one-touch," import capability. These import wizards support data
exchange with a variety of election management systems.
Our expertise in automated integration capabilities has been recognized as a key
element in Hart's contribution to the proposal that won the Federal Voting
Assistance Project's (FVAP) Secure Electronic Registration and Voting
Experiment (SERVE) contract.
4.1 Requirements
a. The system shall utilize delimited text files generated by the Integrity
software to interface to the election management portion of the vendor's
software.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System will import delimited text files from Integrity using a highly
automated import wizard. To develop the wizard, fields will be mapped between
Integrity and the BOSS database structure. The import process transfers all data
necessary to format and generate ballots, including relationships between fields.
The import wizard is launched, and data automatically populates the relevant
fields in the BOSS database. The import function provides complete error
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checking upon import so that the data is "proofed" for correctness as part of the
import process. BOSS also provides the capability for managing multiple ballot
types in an election precinct.
b. All election specific structure, contest and candidate data will be
refreshed for each election.
Hart InterCivic Response
For each election, election specific structure, contest, and candidate data will be
imported from Integrity using BOSS's flexible data import capability or may be
manually entered into the application through intuitive data entry fields and drop-
down menus. Jurisdiction and election information prepared for one election is
saved as an administrative database to be used as a starting point for the next,
thereby eliminating repetitive data entry.
c. The data shall be supplied through an automated interface so no manual
keying of data is required.
Hart InterCivic Response
As noted, Hart will provide an automated interface so that no manual keying of
data is required. The eSlate System supports direct import and export of
delimited text files in a defined file format. Other file formats are supported,
including XML, which is the subject of national and international standards
setting efforts. Relationships such as precinct assignments to polling place can be
imported as well. The import function provides complete error checking upon
import so that the data is "proofed" for correctness as part of the import process.
d. All election management reports generated by the proposed system shall
match the information generated by the Integrity software.
Hart InterCivic Response
Since all election data will be imported from Integrity, election management
reports generated by BOSS shall match the information generated by the Integrity
software.
e. The system may generate its own internal ballot types but shall carry the
Integrity ballot type through to reports, so the proposed system can be
proofed against the Election Management System (EMS) reports.
Hart InterCivic Response
BOSS includes a field that will be used to maintain an identifier for the Integrity
ballot types, enabling the eSlate System ballots to be proofed against the Election
Management System (EMS) reports. The initial activity in the installation effort
is a comprehensive requirements and process analysis. We will work with the
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County to delineate report data and format specifications. Hart InterCivic will
then develop custom reports matching the specification.
f. The proposed system shall provide all necessary reports and/or delimited
text files to allow manual and automated proofing of the ballot types
generated to ensure that the data is interpreted correctly.
Hart InterCivic Response
BOSS produces reports that permit proofing of the ballot types generated to
ensure that the data is presented correctly. These reports are described in response
to question 4.2 below.
g. All functions of the software shall support 250,000 voter records, 250
precinct records, 250 voting districts, and in excess of 1,000 ballot types.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System can readily support the requirements in the RFP for 250,000
voter records, 250 precinct records, and in excess of 1,000 ballot types. For
example, the Mobile Ballot Box (MBB) can store in excess of 50,000 ballot types.
The system is currently installed and operating successfully in jurisdictions whose
requirements exceed this specification.
4.2 Proposer's Response
a. Will you meet these requirements?
Yes X No
b. How do you propose to meet these requirements? Address all
requirements listed above, making sure to include item(s) listed below:
(1) Provide a detailed description of the import capabilities of the system.
Limit the response to ballot management interface only. Identify each
interface file currently supported, its purpose and limitations.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System supports direct import and export of delimited text files in a
defined file format. Other file formats are supported, including XML, which is the
subject of national and international standard setting efforts. Relationships such as
precinct assignments to polling place can be imported as well. The import
function provides complete error checking upon import so that the data is
"proofed" for correctness as part of the import process. The Hart staff includes
expert engineering support to develop custom solutions in the event the source file
formats are not 100 percent compatible.
The eSlate's ballot management interface, BOSS, will use the delimited text files
generated by the County's Integrity Election Management System.