Washington, D.C., February 5, 2001 – Accenture and election.com, the leading global election software and services company, today announced an alliance to jointly deliver comprehensive election solutions to governments worldwide. Under the agreement, the companies will combine their strengths and experience in the development of election software and the use of technology to offer governments new efficiencies that aid election administration with robust solutions that are accurate, fast, reliable, transparent and secure. Accenture also will take an equity stake in election.com.
As Accenture and election.com work with governments to modernize their election systems, these clients will be able to take advantage of Accenture’s business process reengineering, customer relationship management, integration and change management services.
With this alliance, Accenture plans to take its 15-year-old election practice in new directions, as it seeks to meet current government needs. Most recently, the firm helped the South African Independent Electoral Commission transform its 1999 electoral process by using cutting-edge technology for end-to-end election management -- from determining voter districts to open reporting of results. This effort was recognized with the Computerworld Smithsonian Award. Previously, the firm worked with the New York City Board of Elections to improve its voter registration processes and records, and the State of Oklahoma to create a uniform, statewide election management system across 77 counties.
"Accenture and election.com provide a unique combination of vision, capabilities and experience to help clients navigate the complexities of current and new voting systems, while also reusing portions of their existing systems and technology to provide the most economical solution," said David Hunter, managing partner for Accenture’s Global Government practice. "Accenture has long viewed technology as a tool for improving processes and introducing new efficiencies to elections, and as a result of recent developments in the U.S. presidential election, we see a heightened interest in this among government leaders in the world’s democracies."
election.com is a global election services company with an experienced team of election experts from around the world. The company provides complete election management solutions – voter registration and database management, poll site and remote electronic voting, advance security solutions, accurate tabulation, and custom demographic reporting for political jurisdictions and private sector clients around the world. All election.com applications are designed to meet the highest standards of accessibility for persons with disabilities.
"election.com" and Accenture are committed to ensuring free and fair elections around the world," said Joe Mohen, election.com CEO. "We believe that the time is right to respond to the election market’s critical need for an accurate, fast, reliable, transparent, accessible, secure and affordable voting solution. Together, election.com and Accenture will deliver solutions developed to save the taxpayer’s money, simplify the process for election officials and most importantly, safeguard the sanctity of every vote."
"As more governments consider the next generation of election systems and solutions, the combined knowledge of government, technology integration, sound procedures and training, and the best of election software resident within Accenture and election.com will make our team an attractive supplier of election solutions," said David E. Wilkins, Accenture managing partner responsible for the Global Government New Business Models and Ventures services group.
Accenture’s relationship with election.com underscores the firm’s commitment to providing innovative solutions to clients and to generating bold growth, in part by developing a network of interrelated businesses and alliances. For Accenture’s Global Government Market Unit, this relationship with election.com brings an important building block to Accenture’s growing eDemocracy program.
election.com conducted the world’s first legally-binding political election using online polling-place and remote Internet voting during the March 2000 Arizona Democratic Presidential Primary. In addition to poll site and remote electronic voting, election.com provided voter registration and database management, mail-in absentee ballots, poll site paper ballots, advanced security solutions, tabulation, and reporting for the Arizona Primary. The election saw a more than 600 percent increase in overall voter participation and more than an 800 percent increase in certain minority communities. Last year, election.com also processed more than 700,000 online requests for voter registration and absentee ballot materials from U.S. citizens living across the country and around the world.
As part of the firm’s growing eDemocracy program, Accenture recently introduced a suite of transition services designed to aid presidents, governors, and other newly elected or appointed government executives. These services help new officials meet the challenges presented in the short time that exists between the election and taking office to fill key management positions, establish management structures, communicate their progress to the public and set policy. Moreover, last July, Accenture helped the Republican Host Committee in Philadelphia create the first eConvention, bringing gavel-to-gavel proceedings via the Internet to the homes and offices of dot-com delegates.
About Accenture
Accenture is a $10 billion global management and technology consulting organization. The firm is reinventing itself to become the market maker, architect and builder of the new economy, bringing innovations to improve the way the world works and lives. More than 70,000 people in 46 countries deliver a wide range of specialized capabilities and solutions to clients across all industries. Under its strategy, the firm is building a network of businesses to meet the full range of client needs – consulting, technology, outsourcing, alliances and venture capital. Accenture’s home page is http://www.accenture.com.
About election.com
election.com Inc., the leading global election software and services company, provides complete election management solutions – voter registration and database management, polling site and remote electronic voting, advanced security solutions, accurate tabulation and custom demographic reporting – for public and private sector entities around the world. With its world-class team of election experts, election.com is uniquely positioned to help its clients navigate the complexities of the election process from start to finish. Named one of the top-50 privately held companies in the world by Red Herring magazine, election.com (http://www.election.com) has offices in the United States (Garden City, NY; Washington, DC; Austin, TX; and Chicago, IL); Europe (London; Paris; Geneva and Dublin); and the Asia-Pacific (Sydney; Canberra; Brisbane; and Christchurch, New Zealand).