Diebold email reveals plans for "charging out the yin-yang" to output paper

Here's a neat story entitled "Diebold e-mail discusses price gouging Maryland" from the Maryland Gazette that shows the Diebold email archive is proving more misdeeds (here are others). Apparently one email says that Diebold should charge Maryland "out the yin-yang" to fit already-purchased machines with the ability to produce a paper record for voter-verification.

The last quote from MD congressmember Karen S. Montgomery in the below excerpt is too funny: "I'd really like to have [yin-yang] explained to me anatomically, with the assumption that almost any place it would be would be painful." Here's the skinny:

Diebold e-mail discusses price gouging in Maryland
by Steven T. Dennis [Staff Writer]
Dec. 11, 2003

ANNAPOLIS -- An e-mail found in a collection of files stolen from Diebold Elections Systems' internal database recommends charging Maryland "out the yin-yang," if the state requires Diebold to add paper printouts to the $73 million voting system it purchased.

The e-mail from "Ken," dated Jan. 3, 2003, discusses a (Baltimore) Sun article about a University of Maryland study of the Diebold system:

"There is an important point that seems to be missed by all these articles: they already bought the system. At this point they are just closing the barn door. Let's just hope that as a company we are smart enough to charge out the yin if they try to change the rules now and legislate voter receipts."

"Ken" later clarifies that he meant "out the yin-yang," adding, "any after-sale changes should be prohibitively expensive."

The e-mail has been cited by advocates of voter-verified receipts, who say estimates of the cost of adding printers -- as much as $20 million statewide -- have been bloated.

"I find it appalling," said Del. Karen S. Montgomery (D-Dist. 14) of Brookeville, who plans to file a bill mandating a voter-verified paper trail.

"I'd really like to have [yin-yang] explained to me anatomically, with the assumption that almost any place it would be would be painful," she said.

[...]

There's no telling what other information lies in that email archive that someone with an elections, software and political background could bring into perspective.

Posted by joebeone at Diciembre 13, 2003 03:32 PM