At the beginning of every electoral event (by-elections and general elections), and for each electoral district, a list of electors is created from the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario (PREO). The list of electors is maintained throughout the event by the returning officer of that district.
For every electoral event, Elections Ontario (EO) mails a Voter Information Card (VIC) to every elector on the list of electors (currently 12.6 million). The VIC provides important information about the election such as the electoral district, election date, advance poll dates and locations, returning officer’s office address and hours of operation, and other EO contact information.
VIC’s are targeted for delivery by Canada Post prior to the opening of the advance polls. There are typically six calendar days for production, printing and mail delivery combined. For general elections, production and printing may need to take place over weekends and statutory holidays.
Revised VIC’s are sometimes required, for subsets of the list of electors, when information on the original VIC’s is, or becomes, incorrect (for example, a voting location for polling day is no longer available and electors have to be directed to another location). Revised VIC’s are targeted for delivery by Canada Post prior to polling day.
VIC’s are addressed cards - printed on both sides – required to meet Canada Post’s Standard Lettermail™ specifications. VIC’s will be delivered only to addresses in Ontario.
The objective of this RFP is to solicit proposals from proponents to provide EO with VIC production, printing and mail induction services for general elections and by-elections over an 8-year term.
The successful proponent will be required to commence delivery of the main services on extremely short notice when a provincial general election or by-election is called. To maintain the necessary level of ongoing readiness, the successful proponent will also be required to work with EO and have up-to-date VIC and Revised VIC designs, maintain data intake and processing capabilities, and procure and store paper stock at pre-determined volumes.
EO invites proposals in response to this RFP for an engaging, creative and cost effective solution to meet the requirements described within the RFP documents.
Over the 8-year term of this procurement, there will be 2 or more general elections; the first is scheduled for June 7, 2018. Historically, the number of by-elections held every year varies. Typically, Elections Ontario plans that as many as 4 by-elections take place each year.
The complete documentation set required to submit a proposal to this RFP may be obtained from MERX.
