ES&S to Continue 20-Year History of Improving Election Process in Arkansas
            

          State Chooses ES&S to Provide New Statewide Voting System

    OMAHA, Neb., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie
Daniels has announced that the state has chosen Election Systems & Software,
Inc. (ES&S) to implement a new voting system statewide.  Daniels previously
announced ES&S as the winning bidder to provide a statewide voter registration
system in January.  ES&S has been providing election services in Arkansas for
more than 20 years.
    Each county in Arkansas will have the choice of ing ES&S' optical
scan voting system and the iVotronic Touch Screen Voting System.  The new
voting equipment will bring the state into compliance with the Help America
Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002.  The law provides federal funding to replace outdated
voting systems with new technology and to offer greater accessibility
opportunities for disabled voters.
    "After a successful 20-year history of providing elections in Arkansas,
I'm proud to continue working with ES&S, through helping our counties achieve
HAVA compliance," said Daniels.  "Regardless of touch screen or optical scan,
I'm confident that ES&S' technology will enhance the voting experience for
voters in Arkansas."
    Public voting machine demonstrations will allow voters in each county the
opportunity to choose their preferred voting system.
    "ES&S' long-standing relationship with Arkansas is a testament to ES&S'
depth of experience in providing total election management solutions," said
Aldo Tesi, president and CEO of ES&S.  "We look forward to working with each
jurisdiction to upgrade their existing voting systems."
    The ES&S iVotronic Touch Screen Voting System is the premier voting
solution for jurisdictions that prefer paperless voting.  Voters securely cast
their vote for each race and/or ballot proposition simply through the touch of
the screen.  Additionally, the iVotronic's audio ballot feature easily assists
those voters who are visually impaired.  Weighing only 14.35 pounds, the
iVotronic is the most portable system in the industry enabling curbside voting
and wheelchair access.
    The ES&S Model 100 is a precinct-based, voter-activated optical scan
ballot counter.  The ES&S Model 650 ballot counter is used to tabulate ballots
at a central location, outside the polling place.  Both are easy to use and
both reduce the likelihood of having to eliminate mismarked ballots.
    To complement the ES&S Model 100 and Model 650, counties will have the
choice of purchasing a disabled accessible voting solution, the ES&S AutoMARK.
The ES&S AutoMARK voter assist terminal is a ballot-marking system designed to
provide privacy and accessibility to voters who are blind, vision-impaired, or
have a disability or condition that would make it difficult or impossible to
mark a ballot in the usual way.  The technology also provides language
assistance to voters who are more comfortable speaking a different language or
who need help to better understand written instructions.