NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD RFP - Election Services - 267000SR

The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) of California is seeking to award a contract for Election Services under solicitation number 0000039315, with a notice of intent to award posted on May 16, 2026, and responses due by May 23, 2026. The contract, designated as Agreement 267000SR, has a ceiling value of $250,000 and will provide the administration of mailed ballot and electronic elections using a secure online platform, with all services performed within California under PERB’s supervision. Performance is scheduled to begin on July 1, 2026, and extend through June 30, 2029. Proposals will be evaluated using a best-value trade-off approach, weighing technical merit (70 points) and cost (30 points), with technical scoring based on project approach, contractor qualifications, staffing, and past performance, assessed using adjectival ratings from excellent to poor. Cost scoring is based on competitiveness relative to other submissions, and additional incentives of up to 5% are available for certified California Small Businesses and up to 5 additional points for Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises. The award will be made to the proposer achieving the highest total evaluated score. Contractors must comply with extensive California state-specific statutory and regulatory requirements, including mandatory certifications under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and Fair Employment and Housing Act, recycling obligations for materials, and reporting on Small Business and DVBE participation. Special requirements include submitting detailed resumes for all key personnel, evidence of cyber/data breach insurance with minimum coverage of $1 million, and adherence to NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 and NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1 standards for data security and sanitization. Voting Data must be handled with strict confidentiality, cannot be shared without written authorization, and must be permanently destroyed within 30 days of contract termination using certified methods, with written certification of destruction submitted. The contractor is also obligated to disclose any use of Generative AI impacting performance and must comply with audit and reporting mandates under California Government and Public Contract Codes. Proposals must be submitted electronically via email as a complete package of specified documents, with only required and optional attachments permitted; deviations may result in rejection. Invoices must be sent to accounting@perb.ca.gov and include the agreement number. Oversight is provided by Contracting Officer Sukhvir Singh