Governor Ehrlich's concerns about voting system persist

Written by: Robert Lanza on Mar 4, 2006 12:35 PM EST

Governor Ehrlich's concerns about voting system persist

Folks, Governor Ehrlich's office says that the State Board of Elections is being "evasive" concerning his questions about the security of our voting system. This is not an "election-year ploy" as some people have charged. Governor Ehrlich has the same concerns about our voting system as computer security experts who have testified on the issue before the State Legislature. It is clear from these security concerns that State Elections Administrator Lamone and the SBE can no longer legitimately defend our voting system. Fortunately, there is a bill moving through the Legislature [SB713/HB244] sponsored by Delegates Hixson, Bobo, and Montgomery and Senator Hollinger and others that would replace our voting system with a new system by the September 2006 Primary that would use paper ballots and that would be auditable and recountable.

We need to get every Maryland Legislator behind these bills and we need to have a statement from the Governor saying that he intends to fund the bill if it is passed. Short written letters to the Governor supporting his position and inquiring about his intent to fund the bill if passed would be really helpful at this point, as well as short written letters to your legislators, especially your State Senator, with your letters copied to Senate President Mike Miller, Senate Commitee Chair Paula Hollinger, and House Commitee Chair Sheila Hixson. Be aware that Admistrator Lamone and Diebold's lobbyists are even now conducting secret meetings in Annapolis and crafting hostile amendments to try to preserve Diebold's multimillion dollar contract and derail the bill. The bottom line is that not one of Diebold's insecure electronic voting machines should be used in the 2006 elections. We should be telling Legislators to listen to their constituents, computer security experts, and the Governor, and not to listen to Administrator Lamone and Diebold's lobbyists and their hostile amendments. So please all get those letters out this week supporting the Governor's position and supporting SB 713/HB 244.

thanks all...

Robert Lanza


http://www.baltimoresun....,0,181972.story?coll=bal-mdpolitics-headlines

Ehrlich's concerns about voting persist

Governor says elections board has failed to address his questions regarding Diebold devices

By Kelly Brewington
Sun reporter
Originally published March 2, 2006

Two weeks ago, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said he no longer had faith in Maryland's ability to conduct a fair and tamper-free election, and asked the State Board of Elections for a written response to his concerns about electronic voting machines.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Ehrlich called the Board of Elections' reply - received this week - "completely unsatisfactory and evasive."



"After reading this letter, we have even less confidence in the board's ability to conduct a fair election than we did two weeks ago," said Henry Fawell, an Ehrlich spokesman.

An official with the board defended Maryland's voting system yesterday, saying the letter provides the requested facts.

Ehrlich's letter to State Board of Elections Chairman Gilles W. Burger, a Republican, requested answers about recent controversies in other states over Diebold Elections Systems, the Ohio-based manufacturer of Maryland's voting machines. The governor said he wanted the state to adopt a voter-verified paper trail for its touch-screen machines, an issue that has been debated in the legislature for several years.

The governor's letter added a political dimension to the long-standing debate over the security and accuracy of Diebold machines. Some Democrats charged the governor with attempting to cast doubt on the state's voting system as an election-year ploy and attacking elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone, with whom he has clashed in the past.

Debate over Diebold intensified this year when California ordered testing of the company's machines after a much-publicized incident in which a computer expert hacked into the equipment during a mock election in Leon County, Fla.

Ehrlich's letter asked whether the testing in California had any bearing on Maryland's system.

Burger responded that California's software, specifically its memory card codes, are the same as those used in Maryland's system.

Joseph M. Getty, the governor's policy and legislative director, said that answer does not explain whether Maryland's machines are secure.

"What does all that mean?" Getty said. "The letter doesn't explain that at all."

Getty said the letter suggests to him that Maryland's system, particularly the software, has not been properly tested.

"It's all evasive statements without providing any facts to the governor," Getty said. "The response is blather."

Advocates for a new voting system say Burger's response is evidence that the state's system is not secure and violates federal guidelines.

"The same hackable software is on the voting machines we have," said Linda Schade of TrueVoteMD, which has criticized the Diebold machines for years. "Basically, somebody can go in and have the machines report a different election result."

Ross Goldstein, deputy administrator at the State Board of Elections, disputes that, saying its machines are secure and accurate. Burger's letter notes that although a report is pending in California, that state's secretary of state issued a news release certifying the use of Diebold machines, with certain recommendations.

"I think it's laid out pretty clearly in the letter," he said. "The information tested was reviewed by the [Independent Testing Authority], and the advisory board in California was still satisfied with it."

Maryland was one of the first states to implement electronic voting devices in 2003. The state spent an initial $55.6 million to buy the automated teller-like machines, abandoning in many areas optical-scan ballots, which provide paper verification. Critics have since complained of security flaws, though Lamone has defended the machines and observers have said they worked well in the 2004 election.


Go to the web site for more facts, for more ways to get involved, and to make a donation: http://www.truevotemd.or...

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Location: MD