Big news in the realm of voting technology and advancements for Louisiana came through today as Secretary of State Nancy Landry confirmed the selection of several voting systems set to change the face of elections in the state. Among the certified systems were Clear Ballot's ClearVote, Democracy Live's Omni Ballot Tablet, ES&S's EVS 6.5.0.0, Hart InterCivic's Verity Vanguard 1.0, Liberty Vote's Democracy Suite 5.20, and VotingWorks's Vx Suite 4. These decisions follow a series of public demonstrations and testing phases, as reported by the Department of State.
In an effort to fortify the integrity of the state's electoral processes, Landry's office has been clear about its approach: transparency first. Indeed, the Secretary of State claimed this is "the most transparent procurement process in state history." A refreshing promise to the citizens who've eyed the aging fleet of voting equipment with cynicism. According to a release on the Department of State's website, the new systems will include paper ballot to ensure audits can be done "each and every election."
After the system is certified, the state will move into the purchasing phase required by the Election Code. We’ll have to watch how the new technology gets put in place for future elections. A more modern and reliable voting system seems to be coming soon, as per the Department of State.
