The Fairbanks North Star Borough finance committee plan to renew the Dominion voting and tabulator contract will be heard on Thursday, March 5, shortly after the Borough Assembly convenes at 5:30 p.m.
The public can testify by phone by calling the Assembly ahead of time at 907 459-1401, or people can sign up in person before the meeting. They can also sit in the gallery and wait until the end of scheduled testimony to speak on the matter.
The proposed measure amounts to $219,489 and is a sole source contract, which means it will not go out for bid. It covers programming costs, licensing fees, and annual warranties and the ballot tabulation system of the borough’s Dominion voting machines. The measure is a result of a contract modification signed in March of 2022, and appears in the 2024 budget under licenses and fees. The voting machines are funded by property tax dollars.
According to the modification, item 2, the borough agreed to the following: ” … to the amounts listed in paragraph 1 of this Modification #2 and all amounts due and owing under the original Agreement and Modification #1 thereto, the Borough will pay the annual election support services, annual license and annual warranty fees, per the attached quote, dated January 10, 2022, upon invoice.”
This action locks the borough into using the Dominion systems for another five years and would make it difficult for the borough to move toward hand counted ballots as the voters have in the Mat-su borough.
The original 2022 contract modification is here:
