Emergency Notice OmniBallot Balloting Portal

The state of Illinois is seeking to procure an emergency solution for the OmniBallot Balloting Portal, a platform that enables voters with print disabilities to receive, mark, and verify their vote-by-mail ballots as required by Illinois law and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Illinois State Board of Elections has issued an Emergency Purchase Statement authorizing the procurement from Democracy Live, a vendor that partners with Amazon Web Services and has obtained relevant security certifications. The procurement is necessary to provide this critical service in an expedited manner to meet statutory deadlines for ballot transmission. The contract will have a term of approximately 3 months, from February 9, 2024, to May 8, 2024, at an estimated cost of $79,000, and will be funded using State appropriated funds. The State Board of Elections has determined that Democracy Live is the only vendor capable of providing the required niche services within the necessary timeframe.

This emergency procurement is restricted to Democracy Live, as the solution is proprietary and the State Board of Elections has not identified any other vendors capable of meeting the immediate need. No subcontractors will be utilized. The emergency nature of the procurement is due to the necessity of avoiding disruption of critical state services and ensuring compliance with state and federal voting statutes, which could otherwise result in legal action and financial impacts to the state.