Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Dominion Voting Systems Inc.
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing the President of the Board of Supervisors to execute a second amendment to the agreement with Dominion Voting Systems (“Dominion”) to include the lease of additional voting system equipment and the provision of associated elections services, and to increase the maximum amount payable under the agreement by $154,666.58, for a new total amount not to exceed $5,978,151.52.
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BACKGROUND:
The Registration and Elections Division (the “Division”) of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections is responsible for running all county-wide, state, and federal elections for the County of San Mateo, and is contracted to run local elections for jurisdictions including cities, school districts, and special districts.
A Request for Information regarding certified voting systems was issued on January 24, 2019. After an extensive review of the responses received, the Chief Elections Officer determined that the Democracy Suite system from Dominion, was best suited to the needs of San Mateo County.
On or about July 1, 2019, this Board authorized an Agreement with Dominion for leasing the Democracy Suite 5.2 Voting System and associated services, for the term of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022, with options to renew for up to two (2) additional three-year terms, for an amount not to exceed $5,821,147.45 (“Agreement”).
On or about February 1, 2020, the Board authorized the First Amendment to the Agreement which modified the Agreement’s scope to include the lease of one additional HiPro InterScan scanner and increased the maximum amount payable by the County to an amount not-to-exceed to $5,823,484.96; with all other terms of the Agreement remaining unchanged.
In November 2021, the Division exercised both three-year options to extend the term of the Agreement through June 30, 2028.
DISCUSSION:
Dominion has provided voting equipment, software, and services to the Division since 2019. Dominion hardware and software are used to create the ballot, to allow voting at Vote Centers, including providing ballots that are accessible to people with disabilities, and to allow scanning, tabulating, and reporting of results.
The Division has used Dominion’s Democracy Suite software, beginning with version 5.2, which was upgraded to version 5.10 and then version 5.10A. Voting systems are required to be certified by the Secretary of State before use including certifying any software version updates.
On March 18, 2025, the Secretary of State certified the 5.19 version of the Democracy Suite software. In order to upgrade the Division’s systems to the more secure and functional version 5.19, the Division will require new hardware for certain components of the system, such as scanning computers, client computers, adjudication computers, and servers.
It is thus recommended that the Board approve this Second Amendment to modify the Agreement’s scope to include the lease of new servers and desktop computers as part of the County’s update to Dominion Democracy Suite 5.19, and to increase the maximum amount payable under by Agreement by $154,666.58 to cover the three-year lease costs for the new hardware required to implement the upgrade.
The resolution contains the County’s standard provisions allowing further amendment of the County’s fiscal obligations by a maximum of $25,000 (in aggregate).
The County Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Amending the Agreement will ensure that all registered voters in San Mateo County are able to vote in a secure and efficient manner.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Appropriations to cover the costs of the amended agreement are included in the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department FY 2025-26 Recommended Budget. Future service costs will be included in future fiscal year budgets. There is no Net County Cost associated with the amendment.