http://www.premierelections.com/newsroom/premier81607.htm
Diebold Election Systems to Become
Premier Election Solutions
Increased Operational Independence,
Concentrated Focus on Elections Systems Industry Will Strengthen Premier’s
Competitive Advantage
ALLEN, Texas -- In conjunction with the announcement today
by Diebold, Incorporated, to create a more independent structure for its
elections systems subsidiary, Diebold Election Systems is changing its name to
Premier Election Solutions. The change to Premier signals a new beginning
for the company, emphasizing Premier’s leadership position and proven expertise
in election solutions.
“This is both a fresh identity for our company
and a unique opportunity for us to concentrate our focus solely on providing
best-in-class elections solutions for current and potential customers,” said
Dave Byrd, president, Premier Election Solutions, “We will build on a strong
tradition of excellence, innovation and customer service, armed with the
resources to develop innovative products and services. Premier is and
will remain the leader in the election systems industry, and will be an even
more engaged, agile and responsive company. Voters are demanding features on
election systems that we provide, such as paper-based optical scan technology,
touch-screen systems with voter-verifiable paper audit trail printers, and
effective ADA solutions. Our associates are the most dedicated, talented
individuals in the industry, and they will continue to provide voting systems
that are the leading solutions in the market.”
Premier customers will continue to receive the
high level of support and dedicated services and solutions they’ve come to
expect from the company. Diebold’s election unit has always maintained a
high level of operational independence, with the parent company supplying
mostly financial support which will continue with Premier Election
Solutions.
The new corporate governance and management
structure is a logical next step to continue that independence and
growth. Premier Election Solutions has its own quality control, research
and development, compliance, legal counsel, financial controller, sales and
marketing, communications, government relations and human resources
functions. Premier’s optical scan and touch-screen voting terminals will
continue to be manufactured in the United States, with final oversight from
Premier's Allen, Texas-based quality organization. Premier's quality,
engineering and software development organizations will continue to be located
in their existing operations in Collin County, Texas; Summit County, Ohio;
Placer County, California; Snohomish County, Washington; and Vancouver, British
Columbia.
“We are going to increase communication with
our customers and with the election community,” Byrd said. “Premier offers
products and services that let voters cast ballots in English, Spanish and many
other languages, and we will also continue to develop products that help people
with disabilities vote without assistance, on the same voting equipment and
with the same ballots as other voters,” Byrd said. “Premier has a very strong
legacy of innovation and customer service, but our mission is to take our
performance to the next level.”
Premier will operate with an
independent board which will include independent directors to oversee the
newly realigned entity. Dave Byrd will remain president of this company and
will report to the new board of directors.
Premier inherits a very strong reputation for
service that is unmatched in the election system industry. Premier will further
enhance its technical support, poll worker training and voter outreach and
education services, utilizing industry-leading security standards, safeguards
and protocols.
Today, more than 25,000 optical scan units and
more than 126,000 touch-screen voting stations, many with voter-verified paper
audit trail, are deployed by existing Premier customers, ensuring every vote is
safe, secure and accurate. Premier now offers the AutoMARK™ paper ballot ADA
solution that enables blind and physically challenged voters to use an optical
scan ballot to make their candidate selections. Premier customers use more than
16,000 ExpressPoll electronic poll books which have decreased voter validation
time by up to 65 percent, reducing voter waiting lines at precinct locations.
Premier recently introduced a number of
market-leading products that include a new AccuVote-OSX optical scan unit, and
the patented VoteRemote absentee system offering automated signature
verification for incoming absentee ballot envelopes. Premier’s high-speed
optical scanner provides digital ballot scanning and can individually separate
paper ballots that contain errors such as blank ballots, over-votes,
under-votes, etc., expediting the ballot scanning process.
About Premier Election Solutions
Premier Election Solutions,
Inc., is headquartered in Allen, Texas and has offices and personnel throughout
the United States and in Canada. Premier Election Solutions provides
high-quality voting technology to jurisdictions of all sizes, along with comprehensive
service and support capability, and is committed to elections accuracy,
security and integrity. For more information on Premier Election Solutions,
visit the company's Web site at www.premierelection
For more information:
Chris Riggall
Martin Machowsky
Premier Election
Solutions
Edelman Public Relations
1-800-433-8683
ext. 1112
(202) 326-1702
Christopher.