California prepares to crack down on e-voting manufacturers

In an unprecedented attempt to shore up any possible flaws in its counties' electronic voting machines -- the same machines that have been examined and criticized nationwide on many occasions -- California will undertake a so-called "top-to-bottom" review of numerous systems from some half-a-dozen vendors, who must meet a set of seemingly rigid criteria if they want to receive certification for the 2008 election. Giving the proposed three-pronged approach -- initiated by Secretary of State Debra Bowen in collaboration with the University of California -- some real teeth is the fact that each of the three teams tasked with the actual work will be spearheaded by respected academics and leading private sector consultants, including none other than Princeton's Ed Felten, whose tireless efforts to expose the dangers of these shoddy machines are well known to readers of this site. Specifically, each system from manufacturers such as Sequoia, ES&S, and yes, everyone's favorite whipping boy Diebold will see a thorough review of their source code and documentation, along with what are being referred to as "red team penetration" attacks to test the terminals' hardware and software. Since companies are required to submit equipment for testing if they wish to partake in future elections, we could be seeing Diebold make the same begrudging exit from the Golden State as it did from North Carolina, for what we are not alone in suspecting is fear of exposing its flimsy code. Anyone who does choose to participate still risks being forced to make significant changes to their gear or perhaps even complete decertification, so when you Californians go to cast your votes in about eighteen months, don't be surprised if you have to mark up a piece of paper and drop it into a Equalivote-brand ballot box.

[Via Slashdot]

[Pablo Escobar @ May 10th 2007 4:04PM]

RandomThoughts -

Nice try being cute....You obviously don't pay much attention to Calif politics. We have a republican governor and the south (LA, San Diego, Central Valley) are republican. In fact, there are plenty of other states that are more "left" than CA (Oregon, Northeast, etc.).

Take a look at voting history.

[LordFarkward @ May 10th 2007 12:19AM]

no use... as long as it's still AI-monitored, the terminator will still get the vote...

[ryogahibiki @ May 10th 2007 12:19AM]

It's about damn time.

[Asterra @ May 10th 2007 12:38AM]

This must have been spearheaded by the Democrats, as the only party which has ever benefitted from corruptable voting machines is the Replubican party. Two for two, in fact.

[rip @ May 10th 2007 1:46AM]

I'm no fan of the results of the last 2 presidential elections, but you need to check your history.

Riddle me this, do you actually think John Kennedy got elected honestly? I'm pretty sure he was a democrat...

Voter fraud has a long history in America. Off the top of my head, New York and Chicago elections were rigged for years. In fact, cheating/bending or breaking the rules is tacitly acceptable in American culture, as long as you don't get caught.

The question you should be asking yourself is not that it happens, but why is nothing done about it.

[EDomain @ May 10th 2007 10:10AM]

Actually, the Democrats and their allies screamed loudly and constantly about these machines until the midterm elections where they won control of Congress. After the results came in, they were oddly quiet. The complaints sort of dissolved.....

[Asterra @ May 10th 2007 7:20AM]

I won't bother hunting down references to back up your claims since noncontemporary US history is not a particular pursuit of mine. Instead I will settle for pointing out the obvious problem with your comparison.

On the one hand, we have a pretty darn good president, albiet rather short-lived, if you will excuse the figure of speech.

On the other hand, we have a president who is now widely regarded as being either the worst or second-worst in the country's history (hello, James Buchanan), and certainly, incontrovertibly the least-intelligent.

Sorry. Just underscoring the futility of defending the current administration even indirectly.

[rip @ May 10th 2007 4:00PM]

well, like I said, I pretty much agree with your assessment of the current administration. However, that wasn't the point. The point is, that voter fraud has happened to the benefit of both Republicans and Democrats. Kind of how lobbyists give equally to both parties.

As for Kennedy, the only things keeping him from being regarded as one of the WORST presidents ever: his good looks, his short term in office, and revisionist history.

[JBo @ May 10th 2007 10:49AM]

I've voted in CA for eight years now and have never used a machine. I was very happy to vote for Ms. Pelosi on a paper ballot!

[Paulmichael @ May 10th 2007 7:21PM]

I'm sorry but as much as I love technology, if there's one thing corporations such as Microsoft and Sony has taught me, it's that everything can be hacked. No way would I trust my vote in a machine.