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August 16, 2007
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.premierelections.com, or call
1-800-433-VOTE.
For more information:
Chris Riggall
Premier Election Solutions
1-800-433-8683 ext. 1112
Christopher.Riggall@premierelections.com
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