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The Vote Against Touch-Screen Voting
by Maureen Sirhal
A group of technologists and academics is protesting the potential introduction of new voting machines in the heart of Silicon Valley because they say the move will lead to questionable election results.
Led by Stanford University computer-science professor David Dill, more than 300 computer scientists, students, technology professionals and others have signed a petition to delay the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors from purchasing computerized voting machines until they set standards for verifying votes. The county is under a court-imposed deadline to modernize its punch-card ballot system.
At issue is the oversight of votes cast using touch-screen devices. Dill said the system provides no method to ensure that citizens' votes are recorded as they intended to cast them.
Touch-screen machines often tally votes "in a way that is completely invisible to everyone," Dill said. "You could imagine someone writing a software program that would display one thing on the computer screen and record another."
Dill said he became increasingly concerned about the issue after finding that many counties and states, particularly those regions facing legal mandates to modernize their election systems, are entertaining the purchase of such machines. "After the [2002] election ... I became aware that these machines were being bought in large quantities," he said. "I felt that this whole thing is pretty much a no-brainer to anyone who has a basic understanding of how these machines work."
The group of experts opposed to the machines, which includes Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), wants touch-screen machines to print the actual ballot so voters can be confident their votes are accurately counted, said Barbara Simons, the past president of ACM. "Our goal is for them to get something that has a voter verifiable audit trail," Dill added.
Under mounting opposition, the Santa Clara board earlier this month suspended its decision to award the $20 million voting-machine contract. "This gives us more time to thoroughly understand what is being recommended and determine what will be in the best interest of the county and the electorate of this county," Supervisor Blanca Alvarado said in a statement.
The board also held a workshop last week to give Dill and several supporters time to publicly air their concerns. But the board said in a statement that it aims to choose a vendor by Feb. 25.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley announced on Wednesday that his office has convened a task force of computer scientists, including Dill, voting-machine manufacturers and voter advocates to determine what requirements machines should meet. "It is important to build a consensus that our voting systems are secure," Shelley said in a statement. "Voters must have complete confidence their votes are accurately counted."
Dill warned that unless the move to modernize voting technology is pursued wisely, the problems that turned the country against the punch-card ballots like those used in Florida during the 2000 presidential election could force officials to make more changes later. "Obviously, we could roll dice for our elections," he said, "but it wouldn't be an acceptable process for our democracy."
California Panel OKs Financial Privacy Bill
A measure in California that would place limits on the ability of firms to share consumer financial information moved one step closer to enactment on Tuesday, when the state Senate Judiciary Committee approved a financial privacy bill.
The measure, S.B. 1, would require financial firms to obtain permission before sharing with non-affiliated parties the personal financial information of customers. The committee voted 5-2 along partisan lines to approve the bill without any amendments.
The main impediment to passage of the legislation is in the state Assembly, according to a Judiciary Committee staffer, so the panel hesitated to make changes because "most of the heavy lifting in terms of the drafting and the compromising and negotiating will come in the Assembly."
Financial firms criticized the measure. "This legislation would create different rules for different types of businesses simply based on their legal structure, which would inevitably result in winners and losers in the marketplace," said Bill Gausewitz, assistant vice president for the Western region of the American Insurance Association. "This bill will create California-only rules for companies that offer financial services products in all 50 states."
The bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee for a hearing in the next few weeks, before the California Senate votes on the measure.
Expert Criticizes California's Wireless Plan
A proposed regulation before the California Public Utilities Commission would restrict wireless telecommunications services, according to a new study by Emory University economics and law professor Paul Rubin.
The state panel is proposing new "consumer protection" regulations to restrict the way wireless firms advertise and promote cellular phone plans, disclose contract provisions and bill consumers. Some proposals would require signatures when changing cellular plans. The commission's goal is to ensure that consumers have rights under the current market structure.
But Rubin, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation in Washington, argues that the wireless market in California already is highly competitive and that "any new regulation will increase prices and reduce the level of services available to consumers."
At least 158 carriers operate in California, with anywhere from six to eight in a given market from which consumers can choose plans, he said. He added that California already has numerous consumer protection statutes in place and that further regulation would have unintended consequences. "Although the proposed regulations are labeled a consumers 'bill of rights,' they actually will reduce the rights of consumers to contract for plans that they desire," he said.
Oklahoma Paves Way For Biometric Licenses
Oklahoma has awarded a $12 million contract to the biometric technology firm Viisage to modernize and secure the state's driver's license system.
Viisage will execute the design, development and implementation of the new license program using facial-recognition software and fingerprint-imaging technology. A central server will enable Oklahoma Public Safety officials to quickly verify individuals' identities and issue secure identification documents.
"Viisage provided us with an advanced technology solution that will help streamline our license operation and protect our citizens," state Public Safety Commissioner Bob Ricks said in a statement. "In doing so, Viisage demonstrated its clear leadership position and its understanding of our need to produce very secure credentials for the citizens of Oklahoma."
Oregon Group Schedules Security Conference
Oregon's Regional Alliance for Information and Network Security (RAINS), a public-private homeland security effort, is sponsoring a half-day Security Summit on March 14 that aims to help expand the state's role in providing security technologies.
Officials expect more than 200 individuals from private companies, government offices and universities, as well as state and national security experts, to attend. Panelists will try to identify ways to expand Oregon's presence in the multi-billion dollar global marketplace.
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