National Association of Secretaries of State Winter Meeting   ...2 of 2 >
Feb. 13, 2014 - NASS held a demo in the lobby area where vendors could present products and services related to election and business administration.  The Presidential Commission on Election Administration recently warned of an "impending crisis in voting technology as machines bought 10 years ago with post-2000 federal funds wear out and require replacement."  These and other firms will be in the forefront as equipment is replaced.
Bill Cody of GCR, Inc. highlights the award-winning mobile voter information app his firm developed in partnership with the Lousiana Secretary of State.
Jomal Gumbs of PCC Technology Group; the firm provides solutions in election administration, ethics and transparency and corporate governance.  In January Connecticut Secretary of State Jim Condos annouced PCC had been selected to overhaul his office's website and IT systems.
Joe Wilson, vice president of Casto & Harris, Inc., highlights his firm's low-tech solutions. Its ReadyVote™ brand products include a durable, easy-to-set-up voting booth (designed by Wilson) and 13 variations of carts which spare poll workers, many of whom are senior citizens, from the need to do a lot of lifting.
Eugene Yu, president and CEO of Konnech, Inc., highlights his firm's ABVote™ voter education app and PollChief® election management software.
Kathy Rogers, senior vice president of government relations for Election Systems & Software, the country's largest provider of voting equipment and software (according to the firm's website, over 60-percent of voters in the United States cast their ballot on an ES&S system).  Among the products ES&S highlighted were its ExpressVote® device, which has a touch screen and prints a paper voting record.
Karen Clakeley and Ron Clevenger of Hart Intercivic highlight the firm's Verity™ voting system, described as "a modern, human-centered solution focused on usability, flexibility, and transparency."  Clevenger said companies have tended to "frankenstein" their election systems by bolting on new bits and improvements.  To develop Verity™ Hart started from the ground up.  The machine is totally self contained in its own case and weigh 27 pounds.
Jordan Esten and Hillary Rose show off Clear Ballot Group's nifty product  which scans ballots into a digital database, allowing for an automated audit.
Everyone Counts, Inc. provides an interesting counterpoint to firms such as ES&S and Hart Intercivic, by emphasizing use of off-the-shelf hardware instead of expensive purpose-built equipment.  Voters do not need to familiarize themselves with special equipment; laptops, printers and other such equipment can be returned to regular use after an election; and if a laptop or printer breaks down it can easily and inexpensively be replaced.  "What we're doing is what you already know how to do," Shelley Furse said.  Everyone Counts eLect™ system has been used for overseas military voting and many private elections, including online voting for the 2013 Oscars®.  Shelley Furse and Don DeFord recently joined the firm as regional sales managers.  Furse's experience includes 13 years at Microsoft and eight years at Apple; DeFord was HAVA manager for the State of Oregon. 
Lori Steele, founder, chairman and CEO of Everyone Counts, Inc..
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