A pilot project for the creation and installation of 16 early ballot drop boxes outfitted with surveillance features has been shelved by a state agency, putting the legislatively funded program in doubt.
Sen. Kelly Townsend helped secure $500,000 from the 2022 Arizona Legislature for the development and maintenance of “smart” drop boxes which would provide a receipt when an early ballot envelope is deposited. The drop boxes would also feature a camera with recording capability, which would not allow ballot envelopes to be accepted if the camera was inoperative.
Townsend also secured a commitment from the county recorders in Cochise, Pinal, and Yuma counties to utilize the improved drop boxes. There was a hope, according to Cochise County Recorder David Stevens, that the boxes could be ready for use in the May 2023 election.
However, Stevens and the other two recorders received an email Dec. 1 from the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) with notice that the project is not going forward at this time.
“Upon review, the State determined that cancellation of the solicitation is in the best interest of the State,” ADOA’s deputy procurement administrator Jessica Klein wrote. The email provided the recorders with no information as to why the project has been shelved nor who made the decision.
Arizona Daily Independent has since learned ADOA sent out a 63-page Request for Proposal (RFP) on the legislatively funded project. Not one of the 90 companies advised of the RFP submitted a bid that met the criteria by the Oct. 4 due date.
“The state only received one offer and it didn’t meet the requirements of the solicitation,” ADOA spokeswoman Megan Rose said in a written statement Friday. “So, the RFP was canceled, which gives us six months to regroup and work with the legislature on how they want to move forward.”
People close to the matter say the one company which expressed an interest in the project was Phoenix-based Runbeck Election Services, which is best known for printing and mailing out most of Arizona’s early ballots. Runbeck previously
showed interested parties a drawing of what a smart ballot box could look like, but it is unclear whether a physical mock-up was ever shared.
A spokeswoman for Runbeck provided a written statement that the company “is not able to comment on this issue at this time.”
Arizona law allows the ADOA, which is led by former lawmaker and longtime state employee Andy Tobin, to cancel or reject in part any RFP “if it is in the best interests of this state.” ADOA, however, would not release details of Runbeck’s interest, citing the fact there is still time for the RFP to be revised and reissued.
Stevens expressed disappointment with the lack of progress on the smart ballot boxes, of which he was to receive six. Pinal County was to receive three, and Yuma County would get the other seven.
In the meantime, Townsend hopes the fact the RFP attracted only one potential bidder was not due to companies being scared off by the election-related nature of the project.
“It is disappointing that there was only one response and that it was not accepted,” she said. “I would hope that businesses begin to see the value of offering the State of Arizona competitive and quality election services, and soon.”