City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 6, 2017
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Allocation of Funds for the Replacement of Alexandria's Voting Machines
BODY
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ISSUE: Allocation of funds for the replacement of voting machines for the City of Alexandria.
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the use of $595,000 of FY 2017 year-end surplus funds to fund the purchase of new voting machines for use beginning this fall.
BACKGROUND: The City's current voting system consists of two components: eSlate and eScan. They are from the same vendor and are controlled by the same suite of proprietary software programs.
(a) eSlate is an electronic system also known as a Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting system. It was purchased in 2003 to comply with state law and the 2002 Help America Vote Act which requires all localities to provide "at least one voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities at each polling place, including nonvisual 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 allows voters to cast their ballots privately and independently, but does not produce a voter-verifiable or auditable paper trail.
(b) eScan is a paper-based digital scanning system. It was purchased in 2011 to expand voting capacity in the City. These machines provide a voter-verifiable and auditable paper trail.
During its 2016 session, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation that after July 1, 2020, no county or city shall use any DRE. Since the eScan, on its own, does not satisfy accessibility requirements, I recommended earlier this year and City Council approved in May, when it adopted the new 10-year CIP, $895,000 in the FY 2020 year of the C...
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