I sort of chalk it up to the sort of stuff you get with hucksters that sell stuff to municipalities.

The business is a little different than when some random person buys a phone, because while they are technically inept, there is a layer of brokers/buyers between the manufacturers and the stores. Those guys are smart and know their markets well. If you ever sold something into that market you need to produce a few thousand units, for those guys to beat on. And they have to be perfect, or they won't place orders.

This doesn't exist for something like a voting machine.

So think 'stuff thrown together as quickly and cheaply as possible' in order to land the contract. Quality will vary a lot.