County approves BlueCrest ballot-sorting purchase after supervisors press for procurement transparency

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on June 9 approved a staff recommendation to waive competitive bidding and purchase a BlueCrest ballot-sorting system for the elections division, citing grant timing and system integration as the justification.

Supervisor Nelson opened questions about the waiver, saying she is “always going to take a deeper dive” when a sole-source procurement is proposed because the public deserves transparency and competition. Supervisor Hartman pressed staff for a clear explanation of why the county did not run a formal competitive process before asking the board to grant a waiver.

Christina Valenuela, division manager of the elections office, said staff evaluated the market and that three vendors in the space were considered. “We did do some research and … decided the best service would be through BlueCrest,” she told the board, and said BlueCrest devices integrate with the county’s elections information management systems.

Matt Nibblet, the county’s IT manager, pointed to the device’s market uptake and interoperability, saying roughly two-thirds of counties statewide use the same device and that BlueCrest participates in NASPO cooperative purchasing arrangements. Staff also told the board that the county is handling far more vote-by-mail volume than the aging Agillis machines were designed for and that replacing that bottleneck would speed results.

Several supervisors said they accepted the technical case for the machine but reiterated concern about the procurement process. “My issue is more with process,” Supervisor Hartman said, pressing that competitive bidding is the default for taxpayer purchases. Elections staff said the procurement timeline was constrained by a state replacement grant and by a months‑long IT evaluation process that delayed a formal solicitation.

With that explanation, Supervisor Hartman moved to approve the elections staff recommendation and Supervisor Lee seconded; the motion passed unanimously.

What happens next: Staff will execute the purchase under the waiver, using state grant funds to buy and deploy the sorter before the grant deadline. Supervisors signaled they expect departments to avoid sole-source waivers where feasible, and to strengthen procurement planning for future purchases.

Votes and procedure: Motion to approve staff recommendation moved by Supervisor Hartman, second by Supervisor Lee; vote unanimous.

Ending: The board’s approval clears the way for the elections office to replace its aging ballot processing equipment ahead of upcoming elections, but supervisors and staff agreed to pursue improved procurement timing and centralized purchasing practices to reduce future reliance on waivers.