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Elkhart County election board approves ES&S contract to replace aging voting equipment
Summary
The Elkhart County Election Board unanimously approved a contract with ES&S to upgrade end-of-life voting hardware and software; the purchase awaits a county-council appropriation before installation begins.
Elkhart County’s election board voted unanimously July 15 to approve a contract with ES&S to replace aging voting hardware and update associated software.
Board members were told the county’s current machines — described by staff as DS450 units and a separate ballot system — are end of life and will be replaced with newer DS950 units plus an integrated computer that consolidates the ballot and voting systems. "This is going to be upgrading some of the hardware and software for our election equipment," said Patty Pickens, who confirmed the new systems will allow existing DS450 units to be retained as backups.
A board member asked whether listed prices on a schedule were part of the sales order or separate maintenance fees; staff replied the extra line items were annual maintenance and support. Committee member (mover) made the motion to approve the contract and Patty Pickens seconded; the roll-call vote adopted the contract unanimously. Staff said the county-council will consider an additional appropriation the next day to fund the purchase, and final signatures and vendor work will follow that appropriation.
The board emphasized gradual replacement as preferable to a single large purchase, noting earlier purchases of express-vote equipment had been costly. Staff also said the vendor has been responsive on repairs and that internal staff can handle routine fixes.
Next steps: final county-council appropriation, signature of the agreement, and vendor scheduling to begin equipment build and deployment.
