State refuses to approve Diebold voting machines

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: EEkid () aol com
Date: December 20, 2005 11:41:30 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: State refuses to approve Diebold voting machines

State refuses to approve Diebold voting machines

By Edwin Garcia
Mercury News Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Suggesting the ``security and integrity'' of electronic  
voting could be at risk, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson on  
Tuesday refused to approve the use of thousands of electronic voting  
machines pending a federal evaluation.

The touch-screen and optical-scan machines, made by Diebold Election  
Systems and used in 17 counties, including Alameda, were found to  
have ``unresolved significant security concerns'' with a memory card  
that stores votes in each machine, McPherson's elections chief, Caren  
Daniels-Meade, said in a letter to the company's vice president,  
David Byrd.

At issue is whether the removable cards, which are used to program  
and configure the machines, will keep data secure.

The Secretary of State's office is asking Diebold to submit the  
machine's source code for review by the federal Independent Testing  
Authorities before resubmitting the company's application for  
certification in California.

Byrd, Diebold's vice president of business operations, is eager to  
comply.

``Diebold Election Systems is always willing to participate in  
responsible testing to show that our voting systems are up to the  
task of giving more Californians an accessible and reliable way to  
vote,'' Byrd said. ``This has always been our goal: to provide a more  
accurate, secure and accessible voting process for all Californians.''

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/13452214.htm



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