Diebold Election Systems to Become Premier Election Solutions

    ALLEN, Texas, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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(TM) 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 http://www.premierelections.com, or call 1-800-433-VOTE.
 
 

SOURCE Premier Election Solutions, Inc.