Electronic Ballot Counting System and Associated Services for Elections

Description

The purpose of this Prior Information Notice is to notify the market of TfL's intention to carry out early market engagement to assess the current market capabilities and appetite for the requirement. Transport for London, on behalf of the Greater London Authority, are seeking to procure an electronic ballot counting system and associated services for the 2028 elections in London. London has one Mayor and 25 Assembly Members. This unique form of government - the Greater London Authority - was set up in 2000 and, working with London's 32 boroughs, the City of London, central government and many others, it is responsible for key London services, including transport, the police and the fire service. In 2028, elections are to take place for the Mayor of London, the 14 Constituency London Assembly Members, and the 11 London-wide Assembly Members. The scale and complexity of the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections represent a major challenge, with an electorate of over 6 million people. Prior to 2024, the electoral systems required four votes across three ballot papers using three different electoral systems. From the 2024 election, the electoral system for mayor is no longer supplementary vote, and is now first-past-the-post. Accordingly, now, three votes need to be counted across three ballots. Lot 1: This Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ) is issued by Transport for London (TfL), acting on behalf of the Greater London Authority (the "GLA"), and seeks to obtain market feedback in relation to the possible procurement for the GLA Electronic Ballot Counting Services and Associated Service for the accurate counting of voter marks on ballot papers and declaration of results for three elections for: the Mayor of London; 14 Constituency Assembly Members; and 11 London-wide Assembly Members. The 2028 Mayor of London and London Assembly elections, with the option at the Authority's discretion to include the 2032 elections, may involve an electronic count (e-count) to count ballots and determine election results. This was the modality for all elections prior to, and including 2021. The main components are: 1) software to analyse scanned ballots and count the results, as well manage the workflow for recording the receipt of ballot boxes, scanning of ballots in the box, the adjudication of unclear ballots, and the approval process for results. 2) The hardware which includes hi-speed scanners and computers, as well as servers and networking equipment for up to 33 sites 3) the setup and support staff for the e-count locations. The service would likely be phased by: 1) review and testing of software 2) ensuring integration of the software and hardware 3) scale testing 4) training of borough e-count staff 5) setup of locations and count. As part of this market sounding exercise, TfL wishes to seek suppliers views on the extent of their capabilities and appetite for Electronic Ballot Counting System and Associated Services.