Los Angeles County’s Assistant Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Aman Bhullar, who’s also the department’s chief information officer, spent some time last week explaining the county’s Voting Solutions for All People (VSAP) to Industry Insider — California.
In a brief question-and-answer interview, Bhullar last week explained the system for Industry Insider readers:
Industry Insider — California: Please give us an overview of the VSAP project in terms of timeline, effort and the key benefits and results.
Aman Bhullar: Like most places in the United States, Los Angeles County’s voting system was based on antiquated technology. But when L.A. first began confronting these challenges more than 10 years ago, it came up with an ambitious plan to build its own election system from scratch. L.A. County’s new Voting Solutions for All People initiative has transformed the way L.A. County votes. VSAP included much-needed modernization of voting machines and infrastructure throughout the county, but the overhaul isn’t just about upgraded technology; it’s a top-to-bottom reimagining of the entire voting process.
The system was conceptualized around 2007-2008. In 2013, we invited an award-winning global design firm to envision a voter experience true to the project principles. Utilizing an iterative design process that focuses on the user experience, the VSAP design was finalized and prototypes developed. In 2018, we partnered with a contract manufacturer to mass produce the devices and software needed for VSAP rollout. For voters, the biggest benefit was the experience, which is based on the core principles of transparency, privacy, accessibility, and allowing for more options to vote, to name a few.
Industry Insider: What were some of the major barriers you ran into, and how did you overcome them?
Bhullar: I think this was a huge change not only for the voters of L.A. County, but also for our internal operations as well. The change management, outreach and voter education were some of the main challenges. With agile methodology adopted during development, iterative design, ambitious outreach, and thorough planning, we were very deliberate in rolling out the new technology and operational processes. With each phase, we continued to learn, evolve, and adjust as we went along with the project.
Industry Insider: What about the VSAP project is new or innovative, and how did these breakthroughs come about?
Bhullar: When our teams started looking for a new solution, we quickly realized there were no systems available that could scale to the volume that fit L.A. County’s needs. In an industry where a handful of vendors control the vast majority of the market, there was little room for innovation. Everything about the VSAP concept was revolutionary. Creating a system built on top of open source stack with an open source strategy in mind, our core principles were built around accessibility, ease-of-use, transparency, etc. From early on, our design principles were centered around the key stakeholder in a voting system — the voter. The voter must feel empowered and safe in participating in the voting process. Everything about our design has the voter in mind including voters with varied accessibility needs, languages, technical needs, etc. It is because of these core design concepts that we are now realizing the benefits of the system.
Industry Insider: How did the vendor community support you on this project, and how did they help you succeed?
Bhullar: The vendor community was very engaged and supportive of this journey. We relied on multiple vendors to roll out the solution, whether it was the variety of software/systems developed, the hardware (especially the Ballot Marking Devices), or other (commercial off-the-shelf) COTS products — new processes, staffing strategies and cybersecurity programs were developed as part of this initiative. All the vendors that we dealt with saw the bigger picture in this initiative — for the greater good and to be part of a transformative project that had a significant impact to the community.
Industry Insider: What advice would you give to other public-sector leaders taking on similar projects?
Bhullar: Don’t be afraid to take risks, be agile, nimble, learn, evolve, and adjust. Those are the key takeaways for the technologist in me. This initiative has been a highlight of my career at a personal level. I’m sure everyone involved feels the same way.
Industry Insider: What is next for the VSAP project?
Bhullar: We will continue to evolve and keep enhancing the system. Whether it is for operational efficiencies, more voting options, or languages for the voters, the system will go through its evolution. We are also working with the regulatory bodies on an open source strategy. The idea is to make the source code open and available to all so that the election community can benefit from the investments that L.A. County has made for VSAP. Being modular and built on top of open source stack, it can benefit any jurisdiction that wishes to use the system — whole or part of it. Apart from making our code open source, we would also be open to sharing our experience and expertise with any jurisdictions throughout the country.
Industry Insider: Anything else you want to add?
Bhullar: It has been a great journey to develop and operationalize such a big initiative — the first and largest of its kind. We hope the larger election community can benefit from it.
