The contract is valued at $800,000 and will provide accessible, secure and durable electronic voting units and tabulation capabilities for Hays County's 72,000 registered voters in 36 precincts. The eSlate System will replace the county's punch card system in accordance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
Hays County will first use the system in a 2005 election, but officals hope to provide demo eSlate units with mock ballots in all precincts during the November 2004 General Election as part of the county's voter education and outreach program to introduce the system to Hays County voters.
"I am extremely pleased to be moving forward with the implementation of the eSlate System," said Hays County Elections Administrator Joyce Cowan. "We have a history of well-run elections in Hays County and I see the eSlate System as a growing development in our elections process that will provide secure, accurate, and accessible voting for all voters for many years," said Cowan.
Cowan praised the system's accuracy and the company's integrity and longevity in the Texas elections business as major reasons for the county's selection of the system. "The eSlate System is not a touch screen system which I have had concerns about [due to] the calibration of those systems. ESlate has a wheel and pushbutton interface which I feel will be more durable and accurate in the long run," said Cowan.
