Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s office released the following release earlier Wednesday after the decision to end the state’s search for new voting machines:
The state of election administration in our country is virtually unrecognizable from that of just a few years ago, yet Louisiana remains an unparalleled leader in election process and procedures - free from the controversy that has surrounded so many states.
Because of our unwavering commitment, Louisiana remains a national leader in delivering safe, secure, accurate and transparent elections.
After consultation with the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, Secretary of State Kyle
Ardoin announced the immediate cancelation of the Request for Proposal for the phased acquisition of new voting systems in replacement of Louisiana’s nearly thirty-year-old fleet of voting machines.
While the RFP is compliant with all aspects of Louisiana’s election and procurement laws, questions have arisen regarding the applicability of Direct Recording Electronic voting machine technology (presently required by law) and how it impacts the level of competition for this solicitation.
“While our current election-day voting machines has served Louisiana well, it is imperative that we seek the prompt engagement of the Louisiana Legislature to help our office to clarify these matters of law and to ensure that our citizens receive the highest level of competition in this important procurement,” said Ardoin. “We cannot let election administration become just another political football for politicians or voting machine vendors to kick around, without any understanding or concern for the consequences.
Simply put, no other agency in Louisiana has a higher requirement for precision than the Secretary of
State in conducting our elections.”
“Because of this, I am withdrawing the RFP to spend the next few months seeking to undo the damage to voter confidence done by those who willfully spread misinformation and disinformation. While we respect calls for more discussion of the process, it must be noted that Louisiana began preparing for this acquisition following the 2016 federal election cycle. It was never rushed or inconsistent with accepted budgetary or procurement laws. A glaring omission from the calls for more discussion is any credible criticism of our current election process.”
“We remain vigilant in our mission to deliver safe, secure, accurate, and transparent elections to the
voters of Louisiana.”