Voting machine company to pay county $1.2 million
Agreement reached over problems dating back to 2003 caused by uncertified software.

 
ES&S agreement

Details of agreement between the Marion County Election Board and Election Systems & Software:

ES&S to board

? $750,000 cash payment

? $240,700 refund for precinct kits

? $217,000 reimbursement for legal fees

Total: $1,207,700

Election Board to ES&S

? $289,140 for six-year extension of software license

? $95,000 for six-year extension of software maintenance

Total net cash received by board within 30 days of agreement: $823,560
 
 
By Jason Thomas   Indianapolis Star   15 August 2005

A cash payment of more than $1.2 million is making its way into the Marion County general fund, courtesy ofa Nebraska-based voting machine company.

Election Systems & Software agreed to pay cash and provide voting equipment for problems dating back to 2003, shortly after it signed an $11.1 million contract with the county.

The action could set a precedent for 32 other counties under contract with ES&S as election officials scurry to have polling sites in compliance with the Help America Vote Act by 2006.

After the agreement was reached late last month, Marion County Clerk Doris Anne Sadler was able to breathe a little easier.

"I'm pleased we were able to resolve it because it was a lot for the election board and myself and, frankly, for the voters of Marion County," Sadler said. "I think this is some indication that we've done the right thing, and we've gotten money back for the taxpayers on top of everything else.

"I think now we can move forward, and hopefully the voters will have confidence in their voting system."

Marion County purchased optical scan and touch-screen equipment to comply with the Help America Vote Act, which eliminates punch-card ballots and requires every polling site in the country be accessible to the disabled by Jan. 1.

Problems first surfaced in 2003 when ES&S provided software that was not fully certified by the Indiana Election Commission for the optical scan machines.

Also, officials discovered ES&S had installed uncertified software on the touch-screen machines. The company replaced the software, but that new software was incompatible with software that compiles the results.

In fall 2003, more than 9,000 absentee ballots for the City-County Council election had to be hand-counted over two days because ES&S had not obtained certification for software on a central counting machine.

"I think we generally had issues with service," Sadler said. "I'm not embarrassed to say we like the machines themselves. It was the service related to the machines we had issues with, the lack of certification."

The county will be reimbursed more than $200,000 in legal fees from ES&S stemming from a lawsuit filed by the Democratic Party over ballot design that has since been resolved.

ES&S spokeswoman Jill Friedman refused to call the action a settlement, instead labeling it a redefinition of the company's contract with the county.

"We believe strongly that we have an accurate and reliable product, and we're confident we'll have trouble-free elections in the future in Marion County," Friedman said.

Other counties could take note:

? Johnson County, which has a $2.4 million contract with ES&S, faced the same certification problems as Marion County in 2003. Jeff Eggers, lawyer for the County Commissioners, will meet soon with Johnson County Clerk Jill Jackson to decide whether to take any formal steps toward litigation.

? Hancock County Clerk Linda Grass said any problems her office has had with ES&S were miniscule.

"We have a very good relationship with ES&S," Grass said.

Counties are responsible for choosing a vendor to supply voting equipment that is compliant with the Help America Vote Act. In addition to ES&S, four other companies are under contract with counties in the state.

"Certainly we encourage them to be good stewards of public money and make sure not only they get a good price but one they feel comfortable going forward with," said Dale Simmons, co-general counsel with the Indiana Election Commission.

For the first time, Marion County will activate the 615 touch-screen machines to be used in the May primary election. Since 2002, the machines have been in a warehouse.

"They will be in working condition by the time we get there," Sadler said. "I can assure everyone of that."