back to list

at least stalled in CA. what about kentucky and mississippi?

🔗kraig grady <kraiggrady@...>

11/6/2003 3:08:38 PM

California Halts E-Vote Certification

www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,61068,00.html

SACRAMENTO (Wired News, Nov. 3) -- Uncertified software may have been
installed on electronic voting machines used in one California county,
according to the secretary of state's office.

Marc Carrel, assistant secretary of state for policy and planning,
told attendees Thursday at a panel on voting systems that California
was halting the certification process for new voting machines
manufactured by Diebold Election Systems.

The reason, Carrel said, was that his office had recently received
"disconcerting information" that Diebold may have installed
uncertified software on its touch-screen machines used in one county.
He did not say which county was involved. However, secretary of state
spokesman Douglas Stone later told Wired News that the county in
question is Alameda.

Alameda County, a Democratic stronghold that includes the cities of
Berkeley and Oakland, converted to all-electronic voting last year at
a cost of more than $12 million. The county used the machines in state
elections last year and in last month's gubernatorial recall election.
The machines will also be used in tomorrow's municipal election in
Alameda.

The only other California county currently using the Diebold
touch-screen machines on election days is Plumas. Los Angeles County
uses a limited number of the machines for early voting. No one was
available for comment on whether uncertified software may have been
installed on machines used in Plumas or Los Angeles.

The Diebold machines slated for state certification, known as the
AccuVote TSx, are a modified version of the machines used in Alameda
and Plumas. The new machine is said to be a lighter, more compact
version.

At the meeting, Carrel delayed indefinitely the certification of
the new machines until the secretary of state's office can investigate
the matter. Diebold officials, who were attending the meeting, seemed
surprised by the announcement and expressed displeasure to several
panelists afterward that it had been introduced in a public forum.
They were unavailable for comment.

Also present at the meeting were representatives from Solano, San
Diego, and San Joaquin counties, where officials are waiting for state
certification to begin using the new machines. Officials from Alameda
County's registrar of voters were unavailable for comment.

-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU 88.9 FM WED 8-9PM PST