Electronic Participation System

The Town is seeking a vendor to provide the rental and operation of an electronic voting and speaker management system for its 252-member representative Town Meeting. This system must support both in-person and remote participation, accommodating virtual or hybrid sessions as needed. It should enable simultaneous voting in multiple rooms and ensure clarity for all members—whether attending in the main auditorium, a satellite room, or remotely—regarding when voting is open.

Key system features include a user-friendly voting interface that confirms vote selection, allows vote changes while voting is open, and can quickly handle unanticipated motions. The system should integrate remote and in-person voting into a unified record, securely recording votes by member and making the results available to Town staff in formats such as Excel or .CSV. Additional functionality includes the ability to display countdown clocks, real-time voting tallies, vote breakdowns, and public screens showing results if requested. Integration with the Town’s video switcher for broadcasting and possible Zoom sessions is also required.

For speaker management, members must be able to easily request to speak, clarify the type of request (e.g., pro, con, point of order), and remove themselves from the speaker queue with confirmation. The system must support multiple display lists for both the Moderator and public viewing. Dedicated onsite personnel, provided by the vendor, are required to oversee the system’s operation during all Town Meeting sessions.

A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for February 13, 2026, and all questions must be submitted by February 17, 2026.