Published: 04.25.2004
By Rachel Konrad
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A growing number of federal and state legislators are expressing
doubts about the integrity of the ATM-like electronic voting machines that at
least 50 million Americans will use to cast their ballots in November.
Computer scientists have long criticized the so-called touch-screen machines
as not being much more reliable than home computers, which can crash, malfunction
and fall prey to hackers and viruses.
Now, a series of failures in primaries across the nation has shaken confidence
in the technology installed at thousands of precincts. Despite reassurances
from the machines' makers, at least 20 states have introduced legislation requiring
a paper record of every vote cast.
On Thursday, a key California panel unanimously recommended banning a popular
Diebold Inc. paperless touch-screen model - a move that could force Diebold
and other manufacturers to overhaul their business practices nationwide.
On Thursday, the Arizona Senate voted to block the state from using touch-screen
voting machines unless they also produce a printed record.
California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who said Diebold glitches "jeopardized
the outcome" of the March 2 primary, has until April 30 to decide whether
to decertify Diebold and possibly other touch-screen terminals in California.
The head of a newly created federal agency charged with overseeing electronic
voting called Diebold's problems "deeply troubling." The bipartisan
U.S. Election Assistance Commission, formed in January to develop technical
standards for electronic voting, will conduct a May 5 public hearing in Washington,
D.C.
An apology from Diebold
Even a top Diebold executive acknowledged this week that the systems are not
foolproof, as he apologized for primary-day failures and the fact that his company
installed uncertified software in counties across California.
"We're not idiots, though we may act from time to time as not the smartest,"
Diebold President Robert J. Urosevich told California regulators investigating
the company's performance.
Several California voting registrars expressed support last week for Diebold's
questionable equipment, insisting they could not junk millions of dollars worth
of touch-screen terminals, install a new system and train poll workers by the
Nov. 2 general election. But dozens of protesters demonstrated Thursday at the
North Canton, Ohio-based company's annual shareholder meeting, many sporting
T-shirts that read, "The Computer Ate My Vote."
Although Diebold is the most embattled voting equipment company, computer scientists
say paperless systems made by Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. and others also expose
elections to malicious attack, software glitches and mechanical errors that
could delete or alter millions of ballots.
Nostalgia for Florida 2000?
The scientists' concerns have moved from theoretical to real in recent months
as hundreds of counties nationwide upgrade from punch-card and lever systems
to computers in hopes of avoiding a hanging-chad debacle like the one that affected
the outcome of the Florida 2000 presidential election.
It's probably too late for anyone to switch from electronic voting systems before
November. But many computing experts are trying to persuade counties to scrap
the more than 100,000 touch screens already installed - and to overhaul how
voting software is developed.
"The worst-case scenario is that, come November, we're going to have nostalgia
for what happened in Florida, which at least had an appearance of an attempt
to do the right thing with people trying to recount ballots," said Avi
Rubin, a Johns Hopkins University computer expert. "We weren't certain
of the voter's intention on a hanging-chad ballot, but we're going to end up
with a situation where we're not sure of any of the ballots if the system is
paperless."