One of the arguments we've been hearing about the cost of
paper ballots is that they must be printed in NYS. Some have even claimed that
election law requires it, or that Fort Orange Press or Phoenix Graphics are the
only two printers allowed to print ballots. They say this to minimize the low
ballot costs that other states pay and to discredit our 29 cent per ballot
quote for Schenectady County. But it
isn't true.
New York State has no statutory rules on printing paper
ballots. Several counties print their
own ballots in house. Standard contract rules apply if the board contracts for
ballots, but otherwise there are no constraints.
Nothing prohibits a county from bidding out their contracts
to printers other than Fort Orange and Phoenix Graphics, or going out of state
for that matter.
So our argument about the competitive bidding process
guaranteeing low ballot costs as seen in other states is valid. Any claim that
ballots somehow are "required" to be printed in NYS, or cannot be put
out to bid in or out of state, is untrue. There's no reason for us to pay the
high ballot costs that DRE advocates claim.
Sequoia has a contract with New York City that that forbids
the NYC board from using any paper ballot in the Sequoia scanner except from a
printer sub-contracted by Sequoia. This
artificially raises the price by eliminating competition, and Sequoia gets to
add on a contract administration surcharge on top of the amount paid the
printer.
Bo