SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 1
P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA
MARCH 14, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: February 7, 1996
File: 330/130-3
TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM: City Clerk
SUBJECT: Automated Voting Equipment Upgrade
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve the upgrade of the Optech III-P
automated voting system for use in the 1996 General Local
Elections.
B. THAT the City Clerk and General Manager of Corporate
Services report back to Council to seek final approval of
the proposed vendor, acquisition costs and financing of the
recommended upgrade.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENT
The City Manager RECOMMENDS approval of A and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
On February 4, 1992, Council resolved that departments and boards be
instructed that any recommendation for increased staff or enhanced
programs be accompanied by recommendations for matching decreases or
related revenue increases in non-tax revenue subject to Council
discretion.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval to upgrade the
City's existing automated voting equipment for use in the 1996 and
future General Local Elections.
BACKGROUND
In March, 1988, City Council approved the purchase of the Optech III-P
Optical Scan Automated Voting System, manufactured by Business Records
Corporation, Berkeley, California, for use in City of Vancouver
Elections. The equipment was purchased and first used in a City
General Election later that year (November, 1988) and for two
subsequent General Elections held in 1990 and 1993.
The City was a pioneer in this method of voting, being the first
Municipality in British Columbia, and the second in Canada (after
Toronto, Ontario) to introduce optical scan automated voting
equipment.
The automated voting system was introduced primarily to ensure the
accuracy of the vote tabulation. The system also provides the
advantages of:
- rejecting overvoted and/or improperly marked ballots at the time
of voting, thereby eliminating spoiled ballots, other than those
spoiled at the direction of the voter.
- providing individual poll (voting division) results immediately
following the close of the poll;
- determining the overall election results more quickly (usually
within two hours following the close of the polls);
- communicating with the City's Mainframe computer which in turn
generates election status reports for the use of officials,
candidates and the media (including the facility for dial-up
direct access for enquiries).
Following the City's lead, numerous other Canadian municipalities have
purchased the Optech III-P optical scan voting system. An updated
version of the system (referred to as the Optech III-P Eagle) was
purchased by Delta, Surrey and Richmond for use in 1993 and by Burnaby
for use in 1996.
DISCUSSION
The City has now had the experience of three general local elections
with the Optech III-P optical scan voting system. In general terms,
the system has performed well, providing all of the advantages
originally identified when the system was first purchased. Elections
held with the system have proven to be accurate, efficiently
administered and well received by voters and election staff alike.
There has been, however, one major disappointment with the
system....equipment reliability. The failure rate of the individual
Optech III-P units while in use at the polls, has proven to be much
higher than originally anticipated. While a failure rate of 5% was
anticipated, the actual failure rate in all three elections has been
in excess of 30%. Some units have failed repeatedly, resulting in
long periods of "down" time at the individual voting place.
The system is designed to accommodate equipment failures. When a unit
is not working, voting continues as ballots are deposited into a
temporary ballot compartment. Normal voting is resumed after the unit
has been repaired or replaced by technical support staff (who are
dispatched from a central location). Ballots deposited during "down"
times are fed into the unit and tabulated following the close of the
polls. Ballots which have been overvoted or otherwise spoiled are
returned by the system at that time, but unfortunately can not be
returned to the voter (who has long since left the voting place).
Such ballots must be "overridden", and any affected votes are not
counted (i.e., the ballot is treated as a spoiled ballot).
With a low failure rate and short "down" periods, this situation does
not cause significant concern. However, with the much higher failure
rate that has been experienced, the total "down" time results in a
large number of voters not being able to benefit from the full
capabilities of the system. The voter is not advised if they
inadvertently spoil and/or improperly mark their ballot, and are not,
therefore, given the opportunity to replace the ballot and vote again.
This is considered to be unacceptable as voters are not being treated
equally, and could potentially result in a challenge to the election.
As the equipment gets older, the failure rate is likely to increase.
This situation is not unique to the City; other jurisdictions have had
similar experience. The failure rate experienced by all jurisdictions
using the Optech III-P has been higher than originally anticipated.
Efforts by the City and other jurisdictions to work with Business
Records Corporation to improve the reliability of the equipment
through retrofitting have not been successful. Several jurisdictions
are now in the process of upgrading to the Optech III-P Eagle.
Information Services Comments
Information Services staff concur with this assessment. This
equipment has both electrical and mechanical components. With use
once every one to three years, equipment wear is not a major issue,
but physical deterioration is inevitable, even with reasonable
attention to storage conditions. This can translate during operation
to:
- Failure of the ballot handling mechanisms through sensor
failure, distorted or "shiny" feed rollers, etc.;
- Battery weakness and possible failure through chemical change
over time;
- Electronic or electrical failure through a combination of
condensation, dust, oxidation, and corrosion of contacts or
boards.
It would be very difficult to isolate any one of these as a major
cause of failure, but cumulatively they result in a deterioration that
is very difficult to remedy.
It is likely, however, that the fundamental issue is one of design.
If as claimed this design has been improved in later models, through
experience and possibly better technology, these models may prove
significantly more reliable and durable. The experience of other
purchasers of this equipment is probably the best measure of such an
improvement.
OPTIONS
(a) Retain Existing Equipment
The City can continue to conduct its elections using the existing
equipment, which is capable of providing the election results in a
timely and accurate manner. By doing so, however, we run the risk of
experiencing an unacceptable failure rate and potential for challenge
for the reasons outlined above.
Using the existing Optech III-P will also require considerable time
and expense to service the equipment in preparation for use, and
technical support on election day. In the 1993 election, $69,600 was
expended to prepare and support the Optech III-P equipment for use on
election day.
(b) Upgrade to the Current Version Optech III-P Eagle
Business Records Corporation has offered to upgrade our existing
equipment to the current "State-of-the-Art" Optech III-P Eagle. This
unit was developed three years after the City purchased its system, in
response to new voting system guidelines produced by the US Federal
Election Commission. These guidelines set much more stringent
standards of performance and reliability. It is this system which is
currently being marketed by BRC and has been purchased by the other
Lower Mainland municipalities.
While performing essentially the same functions as its predecessor,
the Eagle has a far superior reliability record. As a result, the
units require considerably less maintenance, repair and election day
support. During the 1993 elections conducted by Richmond, Surrey and
Delta only one unit required servicing on election day, representing
a failure rate of less than 1%.
The estimated cost of the upgrade is approximately $785,000 including
a trade-in of our existing equipment. This is approximately 50% of
the cost of purchasing the Eagle system at full "list price".
The Eagle is rated to last for 15 years in the United States. It is
reasonable to estimate the serviceable life of these units will
considerably exceed that of the existing Optech IIIŸP's. The company
does not anticipate a redesign of the unit in the forseable future.
(c) Consider Alternate Voting Systems
It is not recommended that the City consider alternate systems of
voting (including a return to the manual paper count system). The
optical scan system is considered to be the most appropriate automated
system for City elections.
There is, however, one other optical scan voting system which should
be evaluated and considered. The Election System 2000 (ES-2000)
offers the same features as the Eagle, and is marketed by a Canadian
company, Global Election Systems, with an office in Vancouver. This
product was being developed at the time the original Optech system was
purchased by the City. Unproven at the time, the system now has a
larger customer base and warrants a second look.
If Council approves the recommendations contained in this report,
these two vendors will be requested to submit a bid for the upgrade.
City Staff will conduct a thorough testing and evaluation of both
systems, including a survey of current users of the equipment in order
to access reliability.
FINANCING THE UPGRADE
The original automated voting system was funded by a loan from the
Property Endowment Fund, with a repayment schedule over seven years,
at an annual cost of approximately $220,000. Actual annual payments
varied dependent upon interest rates. A final annual payment of
$123,800 was made in 1995 and the PEF loan has now been repaid.
If Council approves the recommended upgrade, the equipment will be
purchased with a new loan from the Property Endowment Fund. At the
level of funding provided in the 1995 Operating Budget ($123,000),
repayment of the loan will be completed in 8 or 9 years, subject to
applicable interest rates.
SUMMARY
This report recommends the upgrade of the City's existing Optech III-P
optical scan automated voting system in order to address the concerns
of reliability of the existing equipment. Funding for the proposed
upgrade would be provided by a loan from the Property Endowment Fund.
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