ADMINISTRATION - Cathy Sorensen, City Clerk
Title
APPROVE PURCHASE AND SUPPORT OF REPLACEMENT BALLOT MARKING DEVICES WITH ANOKA COUNTY
Background
Council is asked to approve the purchase of replacement ballot marking equipment. As required by Statute all voting precincts must be equipped with a ballot marking device that is accessible for individuals with disabilities. The ballot marking devices currently in use, the ES&S AutoMARKs, are at the end of their useful life and must be replaced. The first (and only) replacement equipment compatible with Anoka County’s ballot counters is the OmniBallot Tablet. This product was certified by the Office of the Secretary of State in October 2019 and would provide voters with disabilities a reliable system for marking their ballot during in-person absentee voting and at the polling place on Election Day. The system also includes print-on-demand capabilities that could be used to ensure sufficient ballot supply quickly.
The 2019 Minnesota Legislature appropriated $2 million in additional grant funding to assist with the purchase of election equipment or electronic poll books. That grant program will be administered by the Office of the Secretary of State. Anoka County submitted an application for grant funds in January 2020 to partially fund replacement assistive voting devices (AVDs) for all precincts in the County. It was anticipated that grants would be awarded by March 31, 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards have been delayed. Anoka County expects to receive grant funds through the Minnesota Voting Equipment Grant Account to pay the partial cost of replacing the ballot marking devices and it is their plan to purchase the OmniBallots in November/December of this year to implement with the 2021 elections. In order to help keep annual payments as consistent as possible Anoka County will pay for the initial capital costs then charge cities back beginning in 2023, after the voting machines capital payments end in 2022.
In 2012 the City entered into a Joint Powers Agreement for the allocation of costs for election expenses that included the purchase of the DS200 voting machines along with voting equipment system costs such as hardware/firmware and maintenance costs, election software management, and equipment accessories such as ink, paper rolls, and seals. This JPA does not include any costs related to the recently purchased electronic poll books as those were covered by the County. Per the terms of the JPA, costs are split between the County (55%), municipalities (30%) and schools districts (15%) and our fee is equal to a percentage of the total Anoka County population residing in the jurisdiction at the time of the 2010 census multiplied by the municipal or school district share. Because this purchase falls within the framework of the JPA the approval document was designed to ensure all local jurisdictions are in agreement with the County’s purchase. Approval would allow for repayment of the costs for the Omniballot marking machines (minus any grant funding received) and for updating the modems in the current DS200 ballot counting machines. Approximate annual election JPA payment amounts for Blaine are included in the attached table with repayment deferred until 2023 then paid over 6 years once final payment of the ballot counters has been paid. The County was able to obtain pro-rated usage fees if purchased yet this year and costs would increase in 2021 due to need to replace equipment modems from 3G to 4G so it was determined purchase this year would be most beneficial overall.
Recommendation
Approve extension of the Joint Powers Agreement with Anoka County for purchase of Omniballot ballot marking machines.