DATE: June 18, 2019
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Brandi L. Orth, County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT: Inclusion in Five-County Consortium and Agreement with Democracy Live; and, Memorandum of Understanding for Election Services from DRAM Settlement Grant Funds
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Authorize participation in the Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Settlement Fund Consortium (Consortium) to fulfill State-mandated remote voter access requirements via the implementation of the Secure Select ADA-compliant Remote Accessible Vote by Mail system; and
2. Authorize and Approve the County of Fresno's inclusion, as part of the Consortium, in the Agreement between Democracy Live and El Dorado County; and
3. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Memorandum of Understanding with El Dorado County for election services from DRAM Settlement Funds effective upon execution by both parties through April 22, 2021; and
4. Make a finding that is in the best interest of the County to waive the competitive bidding process consistent with Administrative Policy No. 34 for unusual or extraordinary circumstances for a Remote Accessible Vote by Mail System (RA-VBM).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions allows the County to meet new State-law requirements by joining with four (4) other Counties (El Dorado, Placer, Inyo, and Marin Counties; the "Consortium") to improve access to voting materials for Fresno County Voters who need accessibility assistance completing a ballot and providing these voters with a fully accessible downloadable ballot that can be independently completed at the voter's convenience. This capability has been mandated by Assembly Bill 1013 (2018) for all counties, effective January 1, 2020. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
The Board may elect to not approve the recommended Memorandum of Understanding, which will result in the County Clerk - Elections needing to enter into a new agreement with a vendor separat...
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