 | |
| |
TechnologyDaily Mobile
Election Officials Wary Of Voting Machines
by Michael Martinez
The top election officials in Ohio and Colorado this week raised strong concerns about the security and reliability of touch-screen voting systems.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner issued a report identifying severe flaws in her state's voting platforms. She said some of the Buckeye State's machines can be thrown off by things as simple as magnets and wireless telephones.
Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, meanwhile, banned the e-voting machines used in 53 of his state's counties. He also said some touch-screen devices are inadequate and unreliable.
Brunner, a Democrat, said a $1.9 million study of the Ohio system identified "critical security failures." Ohio has been at the epicenter of several recent electoral controversies, including a 2006 primary in Cuyahoga County that was marred by touch-screen e-voting glitches.
Her report recommended the complete elimination of touch-screen devices in favor of paper-based optical-scan machines. She also advised Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland to move the state to a central ballot-counting system to eliminate unnecessary risks.
"To put it in everyday terms, the tools needed to compromise an accurate vote count could be as simple as tampering with the paper audit-trail connector or using a magnet and a personal digital assistant," Brunner said in a statement.
Some voting rights groups expressed immediate concerns about Brunner's plan, charging that it advocates the adoption of machines that would be less accessible to disabled voters. Larry Norden of New York University's Brennan Center for Justice said in a memorandum to reporters that Brunner's recommendations are flawed but that she should be commended for trying to move to a more secure system.
The center, however, did find fault with Brunner's suggestion of a central ballot-counting system. Norden said such a scheme would eliminate the "overprotection" voters receive at polling places, which saved more than a million votes in the 2004 election. Norden also criticized Brunner's call for a "vote-by-mail" system for special elections next August, a move for which he said the state is not prepared.
In Colorado, Coffman said state investigators found it necessary to decertify machines made by Election Systems & Software, Hart, and Sequoia. The clerks and the vendors of the decertified machines have a month to request a formal reconsideration of the decision.
Coffman, a Republican, said in a statement that he strictly followed a 2006 court order demanding the retesting of the state's e-voting equipment before the 2008 contests.
State lawmakers will have the chance to address Coffman's recommendations when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
"If I'm too lenient in determining what passes, then I risk having the state taken to court by activist groups who will ask for an injunction on the use of electronic voting machines for the 2008 election, and if I exceed the requirements of state law and the court order, then I will be sued by the vendors who manufacture and sell the equipment," Coffman said.
In related news, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen was sued by San Diego County this week for allegedly abusing her authority by demanding that officials there improve their voting system before the state's February's presidential primary.
Bowen, a Democrat, has aggressively investigated all of her state's voting platforms this year. San Diego County accused her of imposing unreasonable conditions on the use of its devices for the Feb. 5 contest. A spokeswoman told the Sacramento Bee that Bowen intends to fight the lawsuit.
States Are Concerned About Emergency Systems
State governments are still overwhelmingly concerned about the ability of local emergency responders to communicate with their federal counterparts during disasters, according to a report released this week.
The National Governors Association's Center For Best Practices said in a brief released Tuesday that state and federal agencies are doing a better job of sharing information than can help guard against potential terrorist threats. But the report also found that the top concern among state officials is improving the ability of responders at all levels to communicate other across jurisdictions.
According to the report, state efforts to adopt interoperable communications systems have been hampered by "a lack of clear guidance from the federal government and an associated lack of designated funding." It also said it has been challenging for states to submit to the Department of Homeland Security interoperability plans that are due by the end of the month.
A survey conducted by NGA found that most state security officials believe coordination would improve with the federal government if Homeland Security identified a single point of contact for each state. The poll also found that a majority of state officials claim the department's state security grant program does not strike a good balance between "preparedness, prevention, response and recovery activities."
Texas Prosecutor Targets Christmas Site
The top law enforcer in Texas this week announced that he has reached an agreement with a holiday-themed Web site to help protect the privacy of users.
State Attorney General Greg Abbott said the site Santa.com has agreed to seek parental consent from its users before asking them to provide their e-mail addresses and other personally identifiable information. The site, which is operated by a California-based company, allows users to shop for Christmas gifts, listen to holiday music, and view and upload videos.
Investigators in Abbott's office accused the site of violating a law that requires sites that target children to implement minimum privacy controls. It is the third site targeted by his office this month.
Key Ohio Aide Punished For Profane E-Mail
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann punished one of his top aides earlier this year for sending a profane e-mail to another one of Dann's employees.
The Dayton Daily News reported this week that Dann reprimanded Communications Director Leo Jennings for sending a nasty e-mail to Steve Lamantia, who was the interim superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification earlier this fall.
Jennings blasted Lamantia in the message for not keeping him informed about an investigation relevant to Dann's office. Lamantia forwarded the obscenity-laced e-mail to Dann's chief of staff later in the fall.
NEW FEATURE
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
