NJ aims for voter system
Covansys will develop and implement a system that will standardize and centralize the NJ voter registration process.
The New Jersey attorney general’s office has awarded a $14.8 million contract to a Michigan-based technology company to implement a statewide computerized voter registration system by the end of the year.
Covansys will design, develop and implement the new system that will standardize and centralize the registration process improving accuracy among other things. The company will also host, maintain and provide help desk support through 2007.
The technology will also help 21 New Jersey counties meet mandates established by the Help America Vote Act. That act requires states to meet many new federal requirements, including creating a centralized and interactive voter registration system by January 2006.
Some system benefits, according to a Covansys press release, include:
• The ability to share voter registration data among counties, analysis and reporting capabilities
• Real-time statewide voter search capabilities for authorized state officials
• Voter validation and identification
• Detection of duplicate registrations
• Digitized signature support and scanning of voter registration cards
• Redundancy and failover architecture
• Petition management
Covansys is using two subcontractors for the project. PCC Technology Group is providing its ElectioNet software, and Aradyme is handling voter data migration and conversion services.
Five other states -- Idaho, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island -- have also selected Covansys to implement similar computerized voter registration systems. The company has announced more than $30 million in such awards since February 2004.
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