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Northumberland Board approves $124,692 Hart InterCivic voting equipment purchase, backs sole-source justification
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Summary
The Board approved purchase of Hart InterCivic Verity Vanguard voting equipment for $124,692 and adopted a sole-source resolution arguing Vanguard’s VVSG 2.0 certification makes it the practicable choice for timely compliance with new federal/state standards.
The Northumberland County Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 12 to buy Hart InterCivic Verity Vanguard voting equipment for $124,692 using funds set aside in recent tax-exempt borrowing.
County staff told the Board the machines address age-related failures in the existing equipment and can meet forthcoming security requirements. Austin Schmidt, who explained the procurement, said the county reduced the quote by about $27,000 and that the supplier can produce equipment with the updated security compartments the county expects will be required.
The Board also adopted a sole-source resolution justifying procurement from Hart InterCivic, citing Vanguard’s national EAC certification to VVSG 2.0 and arguing that no other U.S. vendor currently offers an equivalent VVSG 2.0-certified system. The resolution framed the purchase as necessary to avoid recertification delays and to maintain compliance with state testing and audit procedures.
Supervisors voted to approve both the purchase and the resolution; the motions carried unanimously.
The equipment purchase is intended to replace machines more than 10 years old and to align local voting technology with evolving state and federal standards. County staff said replacement machines will include features such as a universal ballot marking device, scanner and tabulation components, and on-demand ballot printing solutions.
The Board did not schedule additional public comment on the purchase at the meeting; county staff will proceed with contracting and implementation steps.