Electronic Ballots for KRS Elections RFI

The Commonwealth of Kentucky's Finance and Administration Cabinet, on behalf of Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking qualified vendors to provide electronic balloting services for Board of Trustees elections across three retirement systems: County Employees Retirement System (CERS), Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS), and State Police Retirement System (SPRS). The procurement covers comprehensive election administration services utilizing both online and paper ballot delivery methods for upcoming elections in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The first election cycle targets CERS, serving approximately 250,000 members, with specific requirements including ballot delivery by January 20, 2021, voting closure on March 1, 2021, and certified results submission by March 15, 2021. Vendors must develop a secure voting platform that ensures single-vote authentication, prevents ballot manipulation, and provides transparent election procedures and results. Key deliverables include unique ballots for each voter, accommodations for write-in candidates, comprehensive reporting of vote totals, and strategies to increase voter turnout. The RFI requires vendors to submit detailed responses addressing firm information, electronic balloting experience, proposed RFP structure, pricing estimates, and implementation timelines. The solicitation was released on July 1, 2019, with written questions due by July 15, 2019, and final responses required by August 2, 2019, at 3:30 PM EST.

No specific set-aside designations or restrictions on responding organizations were explicitly mentioned in the RFI documents. The Commonwealth will provide member address files in CSV or text format and anticipates that approximately 20% of members currently have valid email addresses, necessitating both electronic and paper ballot distribution strategies. While no incumbent vendors were identified, the RFI suggests the potential for vendor-owned voting platforms that can integrate with the KRS website through redirects. Historical voter participation rates indicate relatively low engagement, with past elections showing 9-19% turnout across different retirement systems. The RFI does not disclose specific budget ranges or award values, emphasizing that this is an information-gathering exercise to inform a future Request for Proposal. Vendors are required to submit responses in hard copy and on a thumb drive in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PDF formats, with all submissions subject to Kentucky Open Records Law. The Commonwealth may invite selected or all respondents to provide product demonstrations, but explicitly states that this RFI does not constitute a commitment to issue an RFP or award a contract.