One of the losing bidders for Louisiana’s voting machine replacement work wants a re-do, saying the bid process was “irresponsibly rushed and fundamentally flawed.”
Election Systems and Software filed a formal protest late Thursday with the state’s procurement office, objecting to the choice of another vendor for the lucrative contract.
The protesting company claims the process used to choose Dominion Voting Systems to replace 10,000 early voting and Election Day machines was mishandled from the start by Secretary of State
Kyle Ardoin, his office and the team that evaluated the bids.
“This solicitation, the evaluation process and resulting award have all been marred by hastiness and willful blindness to the proposals submitted,” Thomas Clark, a lawyer representing Election Systems and Software, wrote in the lengthy protest letter.
Ardoin defended the contracting process, saying the evaluation committee “selected the best voting machines to keep Louisiana at the forefront of election security and integrity.”
At Dominion, a spokeswoman says they hadn’t been notified of the protest and couldn’t comment.
The protest triggers a review that should take several weeks. Jacques Berry, spokesman for the Office of State Procurement, says lawyers and other experts will examine the losing bidder’s claims.
Any decision to uphold or overturn the contract award can be appealed.
The secretary of state’s office wants to replace voting machines bought in 2005 with smaller devices, improved technology and a paper record of votes aimed at offering extra security. Three companies competed: Dominion, Hart InterCivic and Election Systems and Software. Hart InterCivic didn’t file a protest by Thursday’s deadline.
