Reply #26: NV: Heller Says Statewide Voter Registration System Will Be Ready for 2006

[rumpel]

Asian Journal -Journal of The Filipino In America

March 21st, 2006

CARSON CITY —Secretary of State Dean Heller said today that despite some erroneous reports to the contrary, Nevada will have a federally compliant statewide voter registration system in place for the 2006 election.Heller said although they had incurred some problems with the original plan for implementing the system, the State has been working diligently for several months with Registrars of Voters and County Clerks on an alternate plan that will soon be operational.
Under provisions of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, each state was required to have a statewide voter registration list in place for use in the 2006 election.The system will help election officials eliminate potential voter fraud by gathering individual county voter registration information into one centralized data base, thus allowing registrars/clerks to determine if a person may already be registered in another county.

Heller said although some election officials have said his office chose the wrong vendor, there were many people and agencies involved in the process, including the registrars and clerks. "The Covansys contract to build the system was awarded through a collaborative effort of the county clerks and registrars that was administered by the Office of the Secretary of State, Attorney General and the State Department of Information Technology.At the time the decision to award the contract to Covansys was made, the company won a competitive bid with unanimous agreement among all participants in the process, except one clerk who preferred his own vendor.”

He added that his staff has worked closely with the clerks and registrars since concerns with the chosen vendor were first discovered.Further, Heller said that due to contractual obligations, he had to ensure that the problems were addressed in a manner that did not put the State in a precarious legal position."We had to be careful that the State was not put in financial jeopardy while at the same time preparing an alternate plan to ensure the State had a compliant system by the 2006 election."

Washoe County Registrar of Voters Dan Burk said that Secretary Heller and his staff have consistently included county election officials in the process along the way. “We all recognize that over the last 15 months a monumental effort has been put forward by the Secretary of State's office and the local elections officials. Although we may not always be in agreement, I strongly believe those of us responsible for running elections in our individual counties appreciate the efforts of the Secretary of State's office, and understand that we all share a commitment to developing the best system possible for the voters of Nevada. No one deserves to be criticized for the effort that has been put forward to date.”

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