After the 2000 Presidential Election, Governor Parris N. Glendening established a Special Committee on Voting Systems and Election Procedures to review Maryland’s election policies and procedures. In its report, the Special Committee recommended, among other things, that the State implement a statewide, uniform voting system for polling place voting and a statewide, uniform voting system for absentee voting. In response to this recommendation, the General Assembly passed legislation requiring the State Board of Elections, in consultation with the local boards of election, to select a statewide, uniform voting system for polling place voting and for absentee voting. See House Bill 1457 of the 2001 Legislative Session.

Once the bill became effective, the State Board selected a Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting system for polling place voting and an optical scan voting system for absentee voting. A DRE voting system was selected because of the many advantages that it offers over other voting systems. DRE voting systems:

• Eliminate issues of voter intent
• Prevent "overvotes" (i.e., when a voter votes for more candidates than allowed)
• Provide a voter with a summary of a voter's selections before casting a ballot
• Allow most voters with disabilities to vote a secret ballot
• Offer magnified ballots for voters with low vision
• Accommodate multiple languages

On July 17, 2001, a Request for Proposals was released, and addenda were subsequently issued. After a competitive procurement, Premier Election Solutions was selected as the winning vendor on December 7, 2001.