Franklin County opens bids for ballot printing; staff note location and responsiveness considerations

Officials opened two competitive bids for printing the county’s spring primary and November ballots and reviewed line-item pricing and logistical requirements.

Etta from the controller’s office and staff from procurement and elections presented the bids. Bridal Printing House (Shippensburg) submitted one-sided ballot pricing with line items including $13,359 for the Democratic one-sided ballot and other totals; Single Point Source (McSherry's Town) submitted lower quoted totals including a Democratic one-sided ballot at $4,969.84 and nonpartisan ballots at $3,741.25. Staff noted specimen costs, costs per 250 sheets of ballot stock and vendor proximity (12 miles vs. 35 miles) as relevant to the county’s mileage limit in the bid specifications.

Procurement and elections staff said proximity matters to allow rapid response on election day if problems arise; previous performance and the ability to deliver directly without intermediary carriers were also cited as reasons to prefer a locally printed option. Commissioners directed staff to place the item on the next meeting agenda for formal award consideration.