Judge Voids Election Results Over E-Voting Results That Couldn't Be Audited

from the nice-work dept

Mon, Oct 1st 2007 6:37pm — Mike Masnick

Apparently a judge in Alameda County, California, has voided some election results after the e-voting tallies from Diebold machines couldn't be audited. The vote was on a controversial ballot measure, where the end result was quite close. Some activists went to court to demand a recount, but elections officials had already sent the machines back to Diebold, who had conveniently erased 96% of the necessary audit information. The issue will return to the ballot in the next election. Either way, this highlights one of the problems of e-voting machines that have no verifiable audit trail, and it's nice to see a judge actually recognizing that. Of course, this time it was for a ballot measure that can wait until the next election. What about cases where these machines were used for electing officials?

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Filed Under: alameda, california, e-voting
Companies: diebold

23 Comments

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Overcast, 1 Oct 2007 @ 8:01pm

Get rid of these garbage voting machines.

- The companies making them aren't competent obviously and cannot be trusted regardless.

- No one trusts them

- They aren't secure

How many more reasons are needed??

And if the audit information can be erased, again - it can be tampered with. Too many bad points about them.
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Derek Currie (profile), 1 Oct 2007 @ 8:44pm

Hello, California? Who's the ignoramus that approv
Come on. We've known for a number of YEARS now that Diebold make GARBAGE voting machines and that they are INSISTENT upon doing so. Like DUH California! Hasn't the catastrophe in Maryland over Diebold machines taught you anything? Or is your state government just another club of bought and sold old boys who want to be able to throw an election with no paper trail to hinder their chicanery?! Hmm?!

It is time for Diebold to DIE. Any computer science graduate in America could make a working, successful voting machine system with a fool proof paper trail. It's that frickin' easy! Clearly the continued use of this Diebold CRAP is a total SCAM on the US voters. There is no other conclusion.

WAKE UP California!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:15pm

Let me get this straight -

1) The presidential elections were a f'ing mess because of political wrongdoing - on many levels.

2) Instead of thoroughly investigating, we blame paper ballots, which have been used successfully around the world, and here, forever.

3) Then the politicians fall over themselves buying electronic voting machines from big contributors - Diebold is only one.

4) Now the entire conversation is about audit trails.

How easily we are distracted! How f'ing stupid!

Does anyone actually think anymore?

WTF is happening in my country? !!!!!

Be afraid - be very afraid!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:28pm

Isn't Diebold the company that makes the bank vaults for pretty much every bank? I wonder which 'elected official's' family owns that company?
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PTTG, 1 Oct 2007 @ 9:42pm

Re: Hello, California? Who's the ignoramus that ap
I'm from CA, and your'e absolutely right. We can't stand those guys. However, that 'we' refers to the liberal population. The redneck republicans are quite prolific in the Valley and Foothills, and they are the majority in some of these counties.
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Matthew, 1 Oct 2007 @ 10:12pm

Diebold also makes ATM machines.. scary!
As though this wasn't bad enough, Diebold also makes ATM machines. And to top that, they run windows. Be scared, be very scared. Or get them out of business.
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Ferin, 2 Oct 2007 @ 5:06am

When it's the election of an important official...
Say... a president?

Then you just got to the supreme court and have them pick. Duh.
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased), 2 Oct 2007 @ 7:40am

Re: Re: Hello, California? Who's the ignoramus tha
Yeah, the majority of Americans are sane but there are some insane people out there. Liberals definitely have something in common with the insane.
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Dan, 2 Oct 2007 @ 8:48am

Re: Re: Hello, California? Who's the ignoramus tha
Amazing how the California liberals continue to play the victim card, when they pretty much control every single facet of government from the top to the bottom. Yet we still have to hear "it's them damned redneck republicans that're at fault!" Republicans in California border on disenfranchisemen, yet still, everything is their fault.
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RandomThoughts, 2 Oct 2007 @ 10:14am

Considering that the election thrown out was for pot smoking, I think its kind of funny.

I can just imagine a couple of poll workers sitting around the election hall smoking a dubie saying "hey, what about the audit trail?" Answer "Audit trail, we don't need no stinkin audit trail."
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Carey, 2 Oct 2007 @ 11:50am

Re: Hello, California? Who's the ignoramus that ap
Actually, California is one of the few states that is decertifying diebold machines. Other states are behind the trend saying "Duh" (or have corrupt leaders who refuse to decertify)
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smart cookie, 2 Oct 2007 @ 12:14pm

all because someone could punch a hole with a hole
This all started when the press picked on Florida voters who weren't able to follow the instructions for punching a hole with a hole punch.
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T. Bangle, 2 Oct 2007 @ 12:25pm

making the right decision
It is nice to see a correct decision come from the court.
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brisa, 2 Oct 2007 @ 12:27pm

E-voting
The obvious answer to this problem is for governmnet officials to insist on using open source code
in voting and vote tabulation software with mandatory paper back up. Mandatory random audits by precinct to discourage hanky-panky is also needed.

The fact that no DC politician is demanding these requirements indicates to me that vote fraud has become institutionalized.
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JR, 2 Oct 2007 @ 12:48pm

E-Voting vs. Paper Ballots
When you go to vote, you just have to say the magic words: "I'd like a paper ballot, please." In California they are supposed to provide one for you if you request it (and at election training in Orange County they told us NOT to tell voters that paper ballots are available unless they ask for them). The other option (which I chose) is to be a permanent absentee voter - you have to put this on your voter registration form - and, as long as you vote every time, they will automatically send you a paper ballot in the mail to be mailed back to them by election day.
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sharpinchitown, 2 Oct 2007 @ 1:14pm

Re: Re: Re: Hello, California? Who's the ignoramus
California's governor is republican. If he would have spoken up every machine would have been decertified...but it doesn't serve his controllers. Therefore, it doesn't matter how many democrats are in office if the top dog wishes something to be ignored, it will be so.

Regardless, there isn't a lick of difference between the mainstream republican and democrat candidates; only where they get their money.
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Dan, 2 Oct 2007 @ 4:08pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hello, California? Who's the ignor
The California has a republican governor is pretty much a matter of happenstance. He was put into office after the last one was given the boot by voters for incompetence, and there were simply no other candidates that were viable. Be that as it may, all of Arnold's attempted reforms have been blocked by special interests and the Democrats that control the California legislature. To suggest that he is able to take the lead on anything is pretty much wishful thinking.

As for the case at hand, the voting machines are picked by the local counties and then certified for use by the secretary of state. Alameda county, which includes the towns of Berkeley and Oakland, is dominated by the Democratic party. The California Secretary of State, Debra Bownen, is a Democrat, just like all of the other elected officials that hold statewide offices in California, with the exception of the Govenor.

So, to suggests that it was some sort of Republican chicanery that these machines were bought and used as the earlier poster suggested, is just stupid.
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csnet, 2 Oct 2007 @ 5:32pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hello, California? Who's the i
"The California Secretary of State, Debra Bownen, is a Democrat, just like all of the other elected officials that hold statewide offices in California, with the exception of the Govenor."

It is misleading to omit from your post that Debra Bowen replaced the Republican SOS last January. The Republican certified Diebold and all the other voting machines in the state and blocked all reform efforts.

Debra Bowen immediately ordered a top to bottom review of all electronic voting machines used in the state. The result of that review conducted by the University of California is that now ALL of the electronic voting machines have been de-certified.

California is way ahead of any other state in making election officials accountable to the voters, thanks to Debra Bowen and the smart voters who elected her to do that.
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Edward Jacobs, 2 Oct 2007 @ 6:31pm

Diebold is now Premier
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/08/17/diebold-scrubs-wikipedia-changes-name-of-voting-machine-sub sidiary/

Nothing changed but the name! Don't be fooled into thinking anything will be different with machines made by Premier...aka Diebold.
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Michael P, 3 Oct 2007 @ 5:25am

If they are de-certifying electronic machines....
If they are de-certifying electronic voting machines in California - then how did the machines in question get used in the election that the judge ultimately threw the results out for?

Sorry - that makes no sense to me that supposedly decertified machines could be used in an actual election. Somebody please explain the logic...
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Kim G, 3 Oct 2007 @ 6:58am

Sent the machines back?
"...elections officials had already sent the machines back to Diebold..."

What official in their right mind... Oh, never mind.

Why would any election official allow the machines out of control of the local or state election organization. and be sent back to the manufacturer. Did they *RENT* them? I wouldn't trust those farther than I could throw the machines.

They should be property of the election commissions (or whatever the officials are called), not the manufacturer!
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jeff, 3 Oct 2007 @ 7:45am

Re: all because someone could punch a hole with a
actually, the 'chads' weren't completely punched through because, conveniently, someone refused to properly maintain machines in selected areas, thereby allowing a buildup of paper behind new votecards that would not allow for the voter to do anything but stab uselessly and without adequate result. all the pictures of the people judging a chad as 'hanging' or 'dimpled' was a simple smoke and mirror routine to distract everyone from the fact that they had been had by inventive, deceitful, and definitely not democratically minded election officials. so, before you go insulting an entire state of people for the most part like yourself, you should get your facts straight.
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roseman, 3 Oct 2007 @ 4:00pm

At least a "Hanging Chad" can be reviewed by a human, and (if needed) even be debated by election officials.

For a hanging "Byte" there is no such recourse :(

I voted in the above mentioned election for which the results got tossed out. I am GLAD they tossed the results out.

I WANT MY VOTE TO COUNT
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