[NYTr] Calif Voters Seek Injunction Against Diebold Vote Machines
 
Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2006 00:04:20 -0400 (EDT)


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VoterAction - Jul 3, 2006
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=8&Itemid=113

California Voters Seek Injunction Against Diebold DREs in Nov Elections

Secretary of State failed to lawfully certify touch-screen machines
prone to hacking and errors

By VoterAction   

A non-partisan and diverse group of California voters have filed a
motion for a preliminary injunction to block the use of Diebold
Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) TSx touch-screen computerized
voting systems in the states November 2006 elections. The motion
is based on well-documented security and reliability problems and
the impossibility of recounts with this system, and Secretary of
State Bruce McPhersons failure to follow certification procedures
as required by California election code. Plaintiffs are seeking to
have the case returned from Federal to State Superior Court in San
Francisco, where it was originally filed, and in which it can be
considered more expeditiously. The motion for preliminary injunction
is filed conditionally to prevent additional delay in the event
that the federal court refuses to return the case to state court,
and is the most recent step in the California voters case. After
the complaint was filed on March 21, the plaintiffs dismissed their
claims against eight California counties after those county election
officials agreed not to use the TSx and to submit sworn affidavits
confirming their intent.

The California voters preliminary injunction motion is supported
by sworn testimony from volunteer poll workers regarding serious
physical security breaches, including assigned sleepovers, or home
storage of electronic voting machines and missing security seals
over memory card portals. Two of the nations leading electronic
voting security and standards experts have provided sworn declarations
on security and accuracy risks inherent in Diebold DRE technology.

"The evidence submitted in support of our motion demonstrates that
use of Diebold DRE computerized voting systems in the upcoming
election is fraught with peril," said John Eichhorst, partner in
the law firm of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin in
San Francisco, and Co-counsel for the California voter plaintiffs.
"The Secretary of State has put Californians' vote and county
Registrars of Voters at risk by certifying electronic voting
technology that his own panel of experts found to be prone to
undetectable hacking, and that is illegal in our state for this
reason. Recent experience has shown that stop-gap security conditions
imposed by the Secretary of State do not solve the problems, and
use of this system in the upcoming election presents a grave danger
of voter disenfranchisement and election result manipulation."

"The election clock is ticking," said Lowell Finley, Co-counsel,
and Co-director of Voter Action, a non-profit, non-partisan group
advocating election integrity. "The California Attorney General,
representing the Secretary of State, should respond promptly so
that the case can be heard, and local elections officials will know
what to expect before the November elections."

In her testimony, Escondido, CA poll volunteer, Patricia Mack Newton,
who stored a machine in her Jeep and then garage for a full seven
days prior to elections, stated, "I was shocked when we were told
we would be taking the machines home, especially since we had
received no training on how to secure the machines, or if we were
supposed to do so. My experience with the (Diebold) AV-TSx confirmed
my worst fears about electronic touch screen voting. Its continued
use makes me very suspicious of the accuracy of elections."

Additional evidence that the DREs present unacceptable security and
operational risks are provided in the declarations of renowned
experts: Dr. Aviel D. Rubin, Professor of Computer Science and
Technology, and the Director of the Information Security Institute
at Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Douglas W. Jones, Associate
Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Iowa.

"Some of the security risks with these machines are so high that
it is unconscionable that their manufacturers, who have known of
the problems for years, have not taken the necessary steps to correct
them," said Dr. Jones.

Dr. Rubin is author of Brave New Ballot (Random House, 2006),
Co-founder of Independent Security Evaluators, a security consulting
firm, and a member of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) Information Science and Technology Security Group. He also
serves as Director of A Center for Correct, Usable, Reliable,
Accurate, and Transparent Elections (ACCURATE), funded by a research
grant from the National Science Foundation. His complete biography
is available at http://avirubin.com.

Dr. Joness credentials include chairing the Iowa Board of Examiners
for Voting Machines and Electronic Voting Systems, and expert
testimony on electronic voting technology before the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on
Science and Technology. He has been an advisor to the FEC and
Miami-Dade County on problems with electronic voting systems and
applicable standards. He is a principal investigator for ACCURATE.

"Paper ballots dont crash or fail to boot up, creating long lines
and delays on Election Day," said Holly Jacobson, Co-director of
Voter Action. "They are more cost-effective, user-friendly for older
Americans and those with a range of disabilities, and can be recounted
and audited effectively. Optically-scanned paper balloting is the
most affordable and secure choice and was selected in states as
diverse as New Mexico and Michigan on this basis."

       
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