Sole Source Omni Ballot Portal

The state of Illinois is issuing a sole source contract for an Electronic Ballot Delivery System to be provided by Democracy Live. The contract will deliver an Omni Ballot Portal to facilitate secure electronic ballot transmission for military, overseas, and disabled voters in the state. The key objectives are to meet the requirements of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act and provide accessible electronic voting options for these specific voter groups. Democracy Live was selected as the sole source vendor due to their unique security certifications, including FedRAMP compliance and NIST cybersecurity standards, which the state claims are not available from other providers. A public hearing on the sole source award will be held on February 7, 2024 unless an interested party submits written comments or requests the hearing by February 2nd at 4 p.m.

The proposed contract term is from January 15, 2024 to December 31, 2026, but specific pricing, renewal options, and total contract value are not provided in the documentation. While the state justifies the sole source award, a hearing officer previously found the state's justification to be insufficient, as they did not adequately evaluate alternatives like Enhanced Voting that claimed they could also meet the state's requirements. No set-aside designations or budget ranges are included in the materials, and the incumbent vendor, if any, is not specified.