Alameda faces presidential election with no voting system

So my county, Alameda County, is facing the prospect of having their newly purchased electronic voting machines decertified for use in the November presidential election (Alameda doesn't use the TSx, note). That's profound. What are we supposed to do? Can we get the old equipment back? No, we can't. Older voting systems used in previous elections cannot be re-certified... and even if they did, the older systems would completely disenfranchise the same people they had in the past (across racial and disabled constituents). So, it seems, with the following editorial the San Jose Merc is calling for a herclean effort to get a system like that of the OVC up and running in time for November.

I can't emphasize enough how crazy that would be... to go from essentially ground up: from a demonstration system to a deployed, certified and fully functional voting system would be crazy. But, I'm telling you, I would volunteer for the effort and we could make it happen. It could be the State's voting system... developed by the citizens themselves. Cool!

DIEBOLD CAUSED ELECTION HAVOC IN MARCH

Mercury News Editorial

The public apology by the president of Diebold Election Systems isn't enough. His company's promises and excuses for failure ring hollow.

In misleading state election officials, the touch-screen voting company destroyed its credibility and damaged voter confidence in elections. It used uncertified software; equipment malfunctions created havoc in March's elections in several counties.

Diebold's conduct justifies the immediate decertification of the latest electronic voting system used in San Diego, Solano, Kern and San Joaquin counties. That's what an eight-person panel of election officials unanimously recommended Thursday that Secretary of State Kevin Shelley do.

The penalty would be unprecedented. And it would leave county registrars and supervisors scrambling for another voting system six months before a presidential election.

But it also would force voting machine companies to listen to an unambiguous message they've ignored: The state demands more secure and accurate voting systems. Follow state regulations. Don't jerk officials around by forcing last-minute, untested software fixes on them. Replace your proprietary code with open-source software that voters can trust. Treat the development of a paper version of the touch-screen ballot -- a voter-verified paper audit -- with the speed of the Manhattan Project, in time for November.

Some touch-screen critics, including credible computer scientists, are calling for an even tougher response. They want the decertification of all touch-screen machines, including the new $20 million system that Santa Clara County bought from Sequoia Voting Systems. State Sens. Ross Johnson and Don Perata are pushing a bill to do that.

But that would be unwise. The benefits of touch-screen voting -- ease of use by the handicapped, multi-language capability and versatility -- are undeniable. Shoving all touch-screen machines aside now would be expensive and chaotic. County registrars would revolt; companies would sue.

Shelley has forcefully taken on the voting companies. Diebold has all but mocked him. It's time to rattle some cages.

Posted by joebeone at Abril 24, 2004 04:55 PM | TrackBack