Hauling of Voting Machines for East Feliciana Parish - Advertisement Change of Link to view Drayage Bid Packets

The Louisiana Department of State, under Secretary of State Nancy Landry, is soliciting bids for a drayage contract (Solicitation Number 2026-19) to transport voting machines and election materials in East Feliciana Parish. The procurement involves hauling an estimated fifty-six (56) AVC "Advantage" voting machines across twenty-three (23) precincts, with specific requirements for transportation and handling. Contractors must transport voting machines, precinct registers, and "Vote Here" signs from warehouses to polling places and demonstration sites, delivering machines between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. the day before elections and returning them within 48 hours after polls close. Sealed bids were due on November 25, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. CST, with a public bid opening at the Archives Auditorium in Baton Rouge. The contract will be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder within ten days of bid opening, with a contract term from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026, and potential renewals for two additional twelve-month periods.

The contract requires contractors to maintain comprehensive insurance coverage, including workers' compensation, public liability, bodily injury liability, property damage liability, and auto liability with specific minimum coverage amounts. A bid guaranty of five percent of the total bid amount is mandatory, and the successful bidder must provide a performance bond or irrevocable bank letter of credit for 1.5 times the contract price. Contractors must use only enclosed trucks or trailers with individual machine covers and proper moving straps, with strict liability for any machine damage caused by negligence. The contract pricing will be a per-voting-machine round-trip rate, with payment due within thirty days of invoice receipt. While no specific set-aside designations are mentioned, contractors face potential three-year bidding ineligibility in the parish if the contract is cancelled for cause. The contract is contingent upon legislative fund appropriation, with an estimated total value based on the per-machine transportation rate and the fifty-six machines requiring drayage services.