To: Board of Supervisors
From: Kristin Connelly, Clerk-Recorder
Report Title: Contract Amendment with Liberty Vote USA, Inc. for Electronic Voting Equipment
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Clerk-Recorder, or designee, to execute a contract amendment with Liberty Vote USA, Inc. (“Liberty Vote”) to increase the payment limit by $1,500,000 to $15,500,000 for the purchase of electronic voting system equipment and services with an effective date of June 1, 2026, and no change to the term through December 31, 2032.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Liberty Vote contract for $15,500,000 is within the Department’s operating budget, 100% Technology Fund.
BACKGROUND:
The Clerk-Recorder has been under a single-source contract with Dominion Voting Systems, Inc. since March of 2018 for procurement, warranty, licensing, and service of the County’s voting system equipment. In October 2018, the Department amended its first amendment to the agreement with Dominion Voting Systems, Inc., to replace its 12-year-old vote-counting system with a modern tabulation system and equipment utilizing up-to-date technology. In February 2020, the Department entered into a second amendment to the agreement for the purchase of two high-speed ballot scanners for additional ballot counting and business continuity. In January 2022, the Department amended the agreement a third time to include additional voting system enhancements and related services, including a remote-accessible vote-by-mail system designed for use by both military and overseas voters, as well as voters with disabilities. In June 2023, the Department entered into a fourth amendment to include overages due to additional services and equipment costs. In January 2024, the agreement was amended a fifth time to extend the contract term through December 31, 2026.
In October 2025, Dominion Voting Systems, Inc. changed its name to Liberty Vote USA Inc. All voting systems and components certified by the California Secretary of State remained valid under the new ownership, and no changes were made to the software, firmware, or hardware of the system. The Department amended the agreement a sixth time in January 13, 2026 to carry the department through December 31, 2032 to ensure uninterrupted procurement, warranty, licensing, and service of the County’s Voting System during the 2026 Primary and General Elections, 2028 Primary and General Elections, 2030 Primary and General Elections, 2032 Primary and General Elections, and any Special Elections called in 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031, or 2032. This agreement also provided the Department with the ability to purchase additional equipment for the purpose of disaster recovery backup as well as upgrade existing voting system equipment.
This seventh amendment is to purchase said upgrade to existing electronic voting equipment for the estimated amount of $1,468,066.20; specifically, the replacement of 400 Ballot Marking Devices and their accessories that have reached their end-of-life.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The Clerk-Recorder would be unable to conduct County Elections and potentially expose the County to legal action for the Department being out of compliance with the statutory requirement of continuously operating a certified voting system.