ES&S
ES&S is a privately held, U.S.-owned provider of end-to-end paper-based election administration technology, serving 1,531 U.S. state and county jurisdictions with voting machines, tabulators, election management software, and voter registration systems since 1979.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1979
- HeadquartersOmaha, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What ES&S does
Election Systems & Software (ES&S) is a privately held, 100% American-owned provider of end-to-end election administration technology, founded in 1979 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. The company designs, builds, and supports an integrated portfolio spanning the full election lifecycle: voter registration and election management (PowerProfile, Empower, Electionware), ballot marking devices (ExpressVote and ExpressVote XL), poll place and central tabulators (DS300, DS450, DS950), electronic pollbooks (ExpressPoll), activation card printers (ExpressVote Printer), and on-demand ballot production (Ballot on Demand). Proprietary patented technologies include Intelligent Mark Recognition (IMR®) and Positive Target Recognition and Alignment Compensation (PTRAC®), which improve ballot mark adjudication accuracy, alongside secure boot and application allowlisting for device security.
ES&S generates revenue through a mix of hardware sales (voting machines, tabulators, pollbooks), one-time and licensed election management software (Electionware), managed data hosting services (Empower, used by 87% of its voter registration customers), and professional services including poll worker training, project management, and extended warranty programs. The company sells exclusively through a direct enterprise field-sales model with dedicated state representatives — there is no self-serve or e-commerce channel — and serves 1,531 U.S. counties across all major states. Customer segments are state and county election offices and professional election administrators, with pricing determined through custom government procurement contracts.
The company is owned by M-One Capital (formerly McCarthy Group, partnered since 1987) and individual ES&S management, with no venture capital or public shareholders. ES&S holds 31 EAC-certified voting systems — the most of any U.S. provider — and maintains partnerships with the Department of Homeland Security, CISA, IT-ISAC, EI-ISAC, and CIS for security intelligence. Certifications include EAC, VVSG 2.0, ADA, SSAE 16, PCI DSS, and FIPS 140-2. The company recently launched the DS300 (2024), Empower (2025), and PowerProfile (2025), and extended its Printelect partnership for another decade in 2023 (re-affirmed March 2025).
ES&S firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ES&S
- Legal name
- Election Systems & Software, LLC
- Website
- https://essvote.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1979
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- ES&S is a privately held, U.S.-owned provider of end-to-end paper-based election administration technology, serving 1,531 U.S. state and county jurisdictions with voting machines, tabulators, election management software, and voter registration systems since 1979.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ES&S industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Voting Systems
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Computer & Office Equipment (3570), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- eSignature, Forms & Digital Workflow Platforms (HDAEAHAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA), Document Creation & Office Suites (BPAMAMAD)
Keywords
Where ES&S is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Omaha
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
ES&S business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Voting Equipment Sales: Sale of hardware voting systems including ExpressVote universal voting systems, DS series tabulators, ExpressPoll electronic pollbooks, ExpressVote Printer, and Ballot on Demand systems. These are one-time capital equipment purchases for state and local governments.
- Election Management Software: Electionware election management software licensing and updates for ballot design, election setup, tabulation configuration, and results reporting.
- Empower Data Hosting Services: Secure data hosting, storage and management services for voter registration data. 87% of ES&S' Voter Registration customers host on Empower.
- Professional Services: Services including poll worker training, project management, consulting services, technical support, and extended warranty/maintenance programs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise government pricing - custom quotes |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
ES&S product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ES&S designs, manufactures, and supports an end-to-end integrated portfolio of paper-based election technology for U.S. state and county governments, including ballot marking devices (ExpressVote, ExpressVote XL), digital tabulators (DS300, DS450, DS950), electronic pollbooks (ExpressPoll), voter registration systems (PowerProfile), election management software (Electionware), secure data hosting (Empower), and on-demand ballot printing (Ballot on Demand). All software is developed and assembled in the United States.
Product overview
ES&S provides an integrated portfolio of election technology solutions spanning the entire election lifecycle. The core offering includes ballot marking devices (ExpressVote and ExpressVote XL) that produce voter-verifiable paper records, paired with a range of scanners and tabulators (DS300, DS450, DS950) for poll place and central count ballot processing. Supporting products include ExpressPoll electronic pollbook and ExpressVote Printer for voter check-in and activation, PowerProfile for voter registration and election management, Electionware as the election management software platform, Empower for secure data hosting, and Ballot on Demand for on-demand ballot printing. These products are designed to work as an integrated system, though individual components can be deployed based on jurisdiction needs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 4.63 out of 5 customer satisfaction rating
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use ES&S
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ES&S technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
ES&S partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.
- PrintelectmajorES&S and Printelect extended their long-standing partnership in October 2023 (and again in March 2025) for another decade. Printelect provides integrated voting technology solutions that streamline election processes.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)coreES&S partners with DHS Critical Infrastructure Program offices including CISA and NCATS to enhance industry best practices. ES&S submitted end-to-end voting configuration for CISA critical product evaluation at a leading research lab. Company works with DHS to maintain security of every election.
- U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)coreES&S submits all voting systems for testing and certification by the federal EAC, which reflects security and performance standards developed by scientists, academics and election officials. ES&S has 31 systems certified by EAC - most of any provider.
- Information Technology ISAC (IT-ISAC) and Elections Infrastructure ISAC (EI-ISAC)coreES&S is a member of both IT-ISAC and EI-ISAC, nonprofit organizations providing central resources for gathering information on cyber threats and two-way sharing between private and public sectors for critical infrastructure protection.
- Center for Internet Security (CIS)coreES&S partners with CIS for Albert - a voter registration network security monitoring solution providing continuous remote monitoring through CIS 24/7 Security Operations Center with automated alerts for quick response to data risks.
- American Council for Election Technology (ACET)coreES&S is a founding member of ACET, established to advance policies and programs supporting secure, accurate, accessible and transparent elections. ACET is a national nonpartisan trade association for election technology providers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
ES&S competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hart InterCivic: Hart InterCivic is a direct competitor to ES&S, providing EAC-certified voting equipment (Verity system), ballot marking devices, scanners, and election management software to U.S. state and county election offices. Both compete head-to-head for the same statewide procurements.
- Dominion Voting Systems: Dominion Voting Systems is a direct competitor offering EAC-certified voting machines (ImageCast), tabulators, and election management software across the U.S. and Canada. It competes with ES&S for the same county and statewide election contracts.
Emerging players
- Tenex Software Solutions: Tenex provides election management software (EMS) used by U.S. counties to define ballot layouts, manage election logic, and report results — an adjacent/competing software layer to ES&S's Electionware and PowerProfile.
- KNOWiNK: KNOWiNK is a leading electronic pollbook provider whose Poll Pad competes directly with ES&S's ExpressPoll product for the same county and state election offices.
- VR Systems: VR Systems provides voter registration software (VRS) and election night reporting solutions used by U.S. state and county election offices, overlapping with ES&S's PowerProfile and Empower product lines.
- Unisyn Voting Solutions: Unisyn offers voting equipment and election software (OpenElect) to U.S. counties, providing direct competition to ES&S in the ballot marking and tabulation segments, though with smaller scale.
- ClearBallot: ClearBallot provides voting tabulation and audit software (ClearCount, ClearAudit) used by U.S. counties and states, competing with parts of ES&S's tabulation and post-election auditing workflow.
- Pluribus Systems: Pluribus Systems provides election night reporting and results transmission solutions to U.S. counties, an adjacent niche that competes with ES&S's reporting and Electionware capabilities.
Regional players
- Scytl: Scytl provides election modernization and secure online voting technology primarily to international government customers, offering an adjacent product set to ES&S but operating in different geographies.
Others
- Microsoft: Microsoft is an enabling technology partner (Surface Go tablets power ExpressPoll) and a broader enterprise software/identity provider whose Azure government cloud competes conceptually for hosting election data workloads addressed by ES&S Empower.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ES&S social profiles
Digital presenceES&S compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance8 records
ES&S financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ES&S leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
ES&S funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ES&S M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ES&S
What does ES&S do?
ES&S designs, manufactures, and supports an end-to-end integrated portfolio of paper-based election technology for U.S. state and county governments, including ballot marking devices (ExpressVote, ExpressVote XL), digital tabulators (DS300, DS450, DS950), electronic pollbooks (ExpressPoll), voter registration systems (PowerProfile), election management software (Electionware), secure data hosting (Empower), and on-demand ballot printing (Ballot on Demand). All software is developed and assembled in the United States.
Is ES&S a public or private company?
ES&S is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was ES&S founded?
ES&S was founded in 1979. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is ES&S based?
ES&S is headquartered in Omaha, United States, in the North America region.
How does ES&S make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Voting Equipment Sales are the primary driver. The others are election Management Software, empower Data Hosting Services and professional Services.
Who are ES&S's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hart InterCivic and Dominion Voting Systems. Emerging players are Tenex Software Solutions, KNOWiNK, VR Systems, Unisyn Voting Solutions, ClearBallot and Pluribus Systems. Scytl is listed as a regional player. Microsoft is listed as an others.
Does ES&S have an API?
No public API is recorded for ES&S.
What industry is ES&S in?
ES&S's product category is Voting Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAHAJ, eSignature, Forms & Digital Workflow Platforms, with a secondary code of BPADAGAA, Electoral Support & Election Observation. Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 7372.