KRS Election Ballot Administration

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, on behalf of Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), seeks a qualified, independent firm to administer Board of Trustees elections for three retirement systems—the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS), County Employees Retirement System (CERS), and State Police Retirement System (SPRS)—with the initial 2021 election focused on CERS, which has approximately 250,000 members. The vendor must provide comprehensive election administration services encompassing both electronic online voting and traditional paper ballot options, including candidate biography preparation and printing, ballot design and production, electronic voting platform development, call center support during weekday hours from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, IVR services, first-class ballot distribution with return service requested, ballot processing and tabulation, and certified election result reporting with ballot destruction certification. The electronic voting platform must be accessible through KRS's public website (kyret.ky.gov) and self-service portal (myretirement.ky.gov) with single sign-on authentication for portal users, email voter reminders 15 days prior to voting deadline, and capability to track write-in votes by total count only. Critical statutory deadlines include November 30, 2020 for petition filings, January 20, 2021 for ballot distribution, March 1, 2021 for voting deadline, March 15, 2021 for certified election results, and April 30, 2021 for ballot destruction certification. Proposals must be submitted in sealed cover format with separate technical and cost solutions by December 12, 2019 at 3:30 PM EST to the Finance Office of Procurement Services, 702 Capitol Avenue, Capitol Annex Room 095, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601; written vendor questions and deviation forms were due November 7, 2019. Technical proposals are evaluated on a maximum of 1,250 points covering security requirements, vendor technical capabilities, firm background, election timeline adherence, and experience with electronic and paper balloting systems, while cost proposals are evaluated on 400 points based on per-unit pricing for electronic and paper ballots and fully-loaded, not-to-exceed hourly rates with no travel expense reimbursement; the Commonwealth may award up to an additional 200 points for oral demonstrations from the top three vendors. All required documentation includes a signed solicitation face page, latest addendum signature, transmittal letter, Kentucky tax registration, Secretary of State Certificate of Authority, required affidavits, EEO forms if applicable, and a completed Mandatory Requirements Checklist.

The procurement includes optional designations for Kentucky resident bidder status and qualified bidder status for nonprofit organizations advancing KRS Chapter 163 purposes or employing individuals with severe disabilities for at least seventy-five percent of direct labor hours, though no mandatory set-asides are specified. Vendors must comply with extensive security and data protection requirements including NIST-approved encryption standards, annual threat assessments, data breach notification within 24 and 72 hours respectively, HIPAA compliance through execution of Business Associate Agreements, confidentiality agreements protecting member information including Social Security numbers and health insurance data, and Kentucky Revised Statute 61.661 restrictions on member information disclosure. All personal and health information remains the exclusive property of KRS and cannot be used, copied, forwarded, or sold for any purpose beyond contract performance. The contract is structured as a firm fixed unit price arrangement with no cost-plus or open-ended pricing permitted, with price increases prohibited during the first twelve months and thereafter allowed only for documented industry-wide price changes subject to Commonwealth approval. The initial contract term runs from the award date through August 31, 2021, with two optional one-year renewal periods available at mutual agreement, though pricing for renewal elections will be negotiated separately at the time of contract renewal. No specific budget range or award value is provided in the solicitation documents, but the bidding process will be awarded to the highest-ranked vendor through a comprehensive evaluation of technical capabilities, cost efficiency, security posture, and ability to meet statutory election administration timelines.