Request For Proposals (RFP): Online Managed Electoral Services

Background

The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It was founded more than 130 years ago as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 179 national Member Parliaments and 13 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments become stronger, younger, gender-balanced and more diverse. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world. Twice a year, the IPU convenes over 1,500 parliamentary delegates and partners in a world assembly, bringing a parliamentary dimension to global governance, including the work of the United Nations and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 and the subsequent lockdown in many countries, a number of meetings to be organized by the IPU have had to be cancelled, postponed, or their format changed to virtual or hybrid meetings. This includes the meeting of the Governing Council at which elections within the IPU governing structure take place and it has been determined that these elections must now happen remotely in early November 2020.

Purpose

The purpose of this request for proposals is to secure a competitive and high-quality online managed electoral service that can provide a globally available platform offering high levels of security, secrecy, reliability, auditability and trust.

The IPU expects the selected service provider to work with us and an externally appointed independent auditor to provide such electoral services. The service provider must be able to provide a primary online voting platform and a secondary backup voting method (such as telephone or SMS) to support an election that is run over a 24-hour time period and (possibly) over multiple rounds.

At this stage, we anticipate holding an election during the first week of November 2020. The election will be by secret ballot. It will be over a maximum of two-rounds of live voting plus a test vote held up to two weeks prior. We anticipate an electorate of approximately 550 people. The election will be scrutinized by an externally appointed independent auditor as well as tellers appointed by the IPU Governing Council.

Requirements

The service provider will be expected to be able to support the following functionality and all proposals must specifically identify how this will be done to be considered eligible:

• Open an election voting round by defining the voting period (start/end date/time) and voting options (list of candidates). At this point:
  • A list of eligible voters is created.
  • Voting information is created and published.
  • A quorum is established (under IPU regulations a vote is quorate if more than 50% of the eligible electorate have voted).
• All eligible registered voters are sent voting instructions in a secure and verifiable way. This will include voting papers and all associated information.
• Casting of standard votes:
  • Voters are able to access an online voting portal using two-factor authentication (2FA).
  • The service provider (and auditors) can track successful and unsuccessful attempts to access the voting portal and verify that all successful access is legitimate.
  • Votes are recorded but decoupled from any identifying information (the vote must be secret).
  • The act of voting is recorded such that all transactional data is recorded (date, time, login details etc) against voter ID.
  • The provider must be able to ensure that only one vote per-voter is permitted.
  • Votes cannot be modified.
  • The voter is informed of the success (or otherwise) of their vote.
• Casting of special votes:
  • When a registered voter is unable to access the primary (standard) voting system, a backup procedure will allow them to be verified and indicate their voting intent manually and this vote be recorded in the system through a secondary process (such as telephone or SMS). The system must record that this is a ‘special vote’.
• At the closing of the voting round no more votes can be placed and the system must combine standard and special votes (whilst retaining a record of each).
• The system automatically counts all votes cast via the system such that it can identify:
  • Total number of standard votes cast.
  • Total number of special votes cast.
  • Voter turnout.
  • Total number of failed/invalid votes cast.
  • Whether vote was quorate.
  • Valid votes cast per candidate.
• An audit of the voting is used to establish:
  • who voted successfully.
  • who voted via a special vote.
  • who attempted to vote but failed to complete the process.
  • who did not vote.
• The results and audit of a voting round are published to the IPU Secretariat and Governing Council indicating:
  • Quorum.
  • Total votes cast, showing number of standard and special votes.
  • Total votes for each candidate.
  • A declaration of the result.
• Confirmation of the outcome, which is one of:
  • There was a problem with the vote or count (e.g. not quorate).
  • The vote is quorate but there is no candidate with sufficient votes to win (a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote). If so, this must trigger a second-round of voting in which a new list of candidates is prepared which will consist of the top-two highest polling candidates in the first round. The voting process is re-run.
  • The vote is quorate and there is a candidate with sufficient votes to win.
• Security:
  • The chosen system must demonstrate that it is secure in terms of both server and client function.
  • Any electronic voting process must offer a suitable level of encryption and will be expected to use two-factor authentication for voting.
• Performance and usability
  • The system must perform adequately for all clients, including those with relatively low bandwidth.
  • The system provider must be able to guarantee up-time for primary and secondary voting methods throughout a contiguous 24-hour window.
  • The system must be easy to use for a first-time user.
• Accessibility
  • The supplier must demonstrate how their solution conforms to recognised accessibility standards.
  • No voter should be disadvantaged by restrictions or limitations in the technology or process and this includes no user being excluded from voting due to their location or jurisdiction.

• Oversight
  • There must be demonstrable quality control mechanisms in place.
  • The selected provider will need to accommodate physical access for an independent auditor.
  • Secure remote access to a ‘dashboard’ during the voting round is to be provided to the IPU Secretariat and the Tellers.
• Language
  • All material and processes must be available in both English and French

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Quality of responses and match to stated functional requirements
• Past experience and reputation
• Overall cost and cost-effectiveness.
• Financial Sustainability

Budget

• Describe the fee structure/breakdown and payment schedule.
• Details should be provided about the cost structure including:
  • Fixed costs and costs per-voter (or band of voters). This should include a clear distinction of costs associated with primary and secondary voting methods and any assumptions on which these costs are based.
  • Full day rates (and time period covered)
  • Half-day rates (and time period covered)
  • Overrun time limits and costs.
• The quoted price should be inclusive. If the price excludes certain fees or charges, provide a detailed list and explanation of excluded elements.
• Include your rates for the provided services.

Note: The IPU is an international organization exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) in Switzerland.