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A MOTION authorizing the chair of the council to enter into a contract for consultant services to conduct an independent and comprehensive audit of the elections section of the King County records, elections and licensing services division.
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WHEREAS, the metropolitan King County council recently passed Motion 12107, calling for an independent and comprehensive audit of the elections section of the King County records, elections and licensing services division, and
WHEREAS, the county's procurement services office issued a request for proposal ("RFP") to conduct this audit, incorporating the requirements set out in Motion 12107, and,
WHEREAS, a technical evaluation committee, comprised of county council staff, county auditor staff and the Multnomah county auditor, evaluated the proposals, conducted interviews and determined that the proposal from The Election Center best meets the selection criteria outlined in the RFP, and
WHEREAS, Motion 10651, Section III, as amended, and OR 1-020 requires the council to authorize the council chair to sign any contracts in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The chair of the metropolitan King County council is authorized to enter into a contract, in an amount not to exceed three hundred fifty thousand dollars with The Elections Center to conduct an independent and comprehensive audit of the elections section of the King County records, elections and licensing services division, that will at least include a comprehensive examination of the following topics:
A. Incidents of previously uncounted ballots found after certification of an election.
B. Incomplete, incorrect or missing signature images in the voter registration database.
C. Procedures for tracking notification of felon convictions, cancellation of said felons' voter registration and retention of notification and cancellation records.
D. Reconciliation of the number of votes cast with the number of voters credited.
E. Preparation and documentation of the Mail Ballot Report produced during certification of elections.
F. Provisional ballots fed directly into the Accuvote machines without being verified and the possibility of multiple voting.
G. Timely mailing of absentee ballots and quality control mechanisms related to envelopes being mailed without ballots and military voters not receiving ballots.
H. The inventory on ballots released to poll workers, the accounting of the number of absentee ballots returned and the accounting of ballots printed "on demand."