Decision Maker: Head of Democratic Services and Elections
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
To enable the use of tablet technology within
Polling Stations to be deployed and for the relative advantage to
compliance with franchise requirements and ballot paper accounting
to be observed in practice and to inform the Local Returning
Officer to determine whether this technology should be deployed at
future elections.
The risk to the Council is that it will procure the items for the
Local Returning Officer and for this cost not to be reimbursed.
This risk is entirely mitigated by the fact that the decision maker
has the authority of the Local Returning Officer to draw the funds
identified upon production of the invoice from Democracy
Counts.
The primary risk to the Local Returning Officer is that the tablet
technology does not function in respect of confirming individuals
eligible to vote in the election at individual Polling Stations,
identify the Ballot Paper Numbers to issue and produce the Marked
Registers and Corresponding Number Lists. Through the use of the
technology at the Bluehouse Ward By-election on 11 January 2024,
the correct operation of the software and hardware was checked in a
real life scenario across three Polling Station. This confirmed
that there was a low risk of failure. The connectivity test across
all 77 Polling Station locations at this election (to be procured
through this decision) is to further mitigate this risk.
(1) To acquire from Democracy Counts Limited
(the supplier of the Council’s Electoral Management System)
the following in respect of the delivery of the Police, Fire and
Crime Commissioner election at a total cost of £23,910:
• Project Set Up and Management
• 82 tablet devices (5 of which will be contingency devices)
for use in Polling Stations through which staff will confirm
individuals eligible to vote in the election at that Polling
Station, identify the Ballot Paper Number to issue and produce the
Marked Register and Corresponding Number List.
• Provide training to all Polling Station staff on the use of
the device and the software provided for the election.
• 8 tablet devices for use by Polling Station
Inspectors.
• Dedicated on-site support on Polling Day
• Connectivity Survey from within all Polling Stations.
(2) To arrange for the full re-imbursement of the costs associated
with (1) above (initially met by the Council), by the Local
Returning Officer at the same election.
These were evaluated as part of the
consideration of the following decision:
Decision - Exemption from Procurement Rules - provide and trial the
use of mobile tablet technology across Polling Stations within the
District for the upcoming Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
Elections on 2 May 2024
https://tdcdemocracy.tendringdc.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=12300
Publication date: 26/03/2024
Date of decision: 26/03/2024