Representatives of IBM say Michele Reagan is off the mark in blaming tech giant IBM for a high-profile blunder in which the office failed to send 200,000 publicity pamphlets for the May 17 special election, and that the secretary of state instead is to blame, Arizona Capitol Times reports.
The Secretary of State’s Office attributed the snafu a “vendor error,” and said the vendor in question was IBM.
But the company said it was in no way responsible for the un-mailed pamphlets. In fact, IBM’s contract with the secretary of state expired two months before the Reagan’s office learned of the problem.
IBM lobbyist Dean Miller said Reagan’s office had concerns about the cost of the contract, which ran about $800,000 per year.
IBM had no responsibility for actually using the software, Miller said. IBM’s only role since 2011 has been to maintain the software and update it as needed. The responsibility for using the software to compile mailing lists lies with the Secretary of State’s Office, he said.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the error led to 200,000 publicity pamphlets not being mailed to households with two registered voters.
