CA: Sets deadline for voting machine inspections / Won't relax rules

[Wilms]

State sets deadline for voting machine inspections

Greg Kane
Record Staff Writer

Jan 17, 2006

SACRAMENTO - The company that manufactured 1,600 touchscreen voting machines sitting unused in a San Joaquin County warehouse has until Feb. 1 to have its software inspected, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said Monday.

Diebold's optical-scan and touchscreen machines - known respectively as the OS and TSx - use memory cards that critics say could allow outsiders to manipulate ballots. The state asked Diebold last month to submit the software for federal inspection before it can be certified for use in the June 6 primary.

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McPherson said there have been no threats from the U.S. Department of Justice to penalize those counties for violations but added it would be naïve to think it wouldn't happen.

His message for county elections officials who didn't meet the deadline: "If you get sued, we are going to be right there with you."

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http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060117/NEWS01/601170325/1001




01/17/2006

State won't relax rules for e -voting machines

By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER

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But he said he will not loosen state rules for voting systems, considered among the nation's toughest.

"We cannot cut corners and lose the trust, the integrity, of the vote. If we do that, we've lost everything," he told reporters.

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Only one voting system has earned state and national certification, but it has shown problems with accurate recording and tallying of votes.

McPherson said ES&S is fixing those problems, which affected Solano, Merced and potentially other counties, such as San Mateo and Contra Costa, that use ES&S equipment.

"They have stepped up to the plate," McPherson said. "It's not as much of a system problem as it was a service problem."

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The firm anticipates running its latest voting machinery through California's most rigorous test — a massive, mock election involving dozens of machines — sometime in February. If the system is approved, the new Sequoia machines will be used in San Francisco and be considered for purchase by Alameda County along with products from Diebold and other vendors.

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http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_3409931