The Johnson County Election Board and Commissioners are cutting ties with software vendor that caused system crashes which resulted in thousands of voters waiting in lines for hours during the November 6 election. The Johnson County Commissioners voted Monday to adopt Election Board recommendations that the county terminate its contract with Omaha-based Election Systems and Software. “We just want to ensure that we have a good election,” said Johnson County Clerk Trena McGlaughlin. “We don’t want to have any issues this year. And we want to make everyone happy.” An investigation by Ball State’s VSTOP team, for the Indiana Secretary of State, determined ES&S systems were not properly set up for the high voter turnout the county saw on election day. A system slow-down quickly brought voting to a standstill at multiple voting sites across the county. Thousands of voters were left waiting in line for several hours as election officials and technical advisors struggled to get e-poll books back up to speed.
The VSTOP investigation also determined a work-around offered by ES&S violated Indiana election law by rendering voting sites unable to communicate with each other over the computer system. That could have made it possible for a person to vote more than once at differing polling sites.
… In terminating the contract with ES&S, county officials will contract with a company called KNOWiNK for 90 new electronic poll books. KNOWiNK has a central office in Indianapolis. McGlaughlin said the Apple-based tablets are much more user friendly and should be easier for poll workers to use. The contract is expected to cost roughly $166,000.
In addition, the county plans to rent 80 new voting machines from Chicago-based RBM Consulting. That rental agreement is expected to cost around $116,000.
Full Article: Johnson County to change election equipment before May Primary | FOX59.