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Get the Facts Added January 2009 SOME INFORMATION ON ELECTRONIC VOTING GENERAL INFORMATION A good website for getting all the fact and arguments both pro and con on current controversial issues is at www.procon.org. One of the issues covered is electronic voting machines, http://www.votingmachinesprocon.org/ VULNERABILITY California Secretary of State Debra Bowen conducted a top-to-bottom review in 2007 of many of the voting systems certified for use in California. The review, led by computer scientists from the University of California, was designed to restore the public's confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and to ensure that California voters cast their ballots on machines that are secure, accurate, reliable, and accessible. Following the top-to-bottom review, on August 3, 2007, Secretary Bowen strengthened the security requirements and use conditions for certain systems. The following documents detail Secretary Bowen's decisions and the independent experts' findings in the review. Click here to read reports: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vsr.htm Voting Systems Technology Assessment Advisory Board Report (VSTAAB), published February 14, 2006 and available on the California Secretary of States website at: http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/voting_systems /security_analysis_of_the_diebold_accubasic_interpreter.pdf Princeton Report: Security Analysis of the Diebold Accuvote-TS Voting Machine. Report produced by the Center for Information Technology Policy and Dept. of Computer Science, Princeton University released September 13, 2006 after a four month study. This is a comprehensive report of the systems vulnerabilities. Click here to read (download file): http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/ts-paper.pdf Diebold TSx Evaluation: Security Alert, May 11, 2006 by Harri Hursti. This report exposes more vulnerability with actual pictures. Click here for the report (download file): http://www.blackboxvoting.org/BBVtsxstudy.pdf United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published September 2005 and available at: (download file) http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05956.pdf Brennan Center Reports: In 2006, the Brennan Center released two comprehensive, empirical analyses of electronic voting systems in the United States. The Machinery of Democracy: Protecting Elections in an Electronic World. Click here to read (download file): http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/machinery_of_democracy_protecting_elections_in_an_electronic_world/ The Machinery of Democracy: Voting System Security, Accessibility, Usability, and Cost. Click here to read (download file): http://brennan.3cdn.net/cb325689a9bbe2930e_0am6b09p4.PDF The Brennan Center continued its study of electronic voting security in Post-Election Audits: Restoring Trust in Elections. Since the Brennan Center initiated its study of electronic voting, it has been called upon to provide expert testimony before Congress and to assist election officials in developing procedures that promote secure and reliable voting systems. Click Here for PDF: http://brennan.3cdn.net/f1867ccc368442335b_8em6bso3r.pdf COST Initial and ongoing costs of touch screens as compared to Optical Scanners. Polling places only require one optical scanner per polling place verses the need for many DRE machines per polling place. Cost Comparison of DRE machines and Optical Scanners in Florida: http://www.votersunite.org/info/costcomparisonextended.asp Cost Comparison in North Carolina: http://www.ncvoter.net/affordable.html Maryland Governor's letter regarding estimates vs. actual costs http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/downloads/gillesburgerltr10.pdf Logic and Accuracy Testing Cost Comparisons: http://www.washburnresearch.org/ComparatisonOfTestingCosts_PBOS_to_DRE.htm ACCESSIBILITY Voting Accessibility Resources: Improving Voting Systems for Disabled People: http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?list=type&type=59 Statement on Disability Access to Voting Systems: Accessible and Verifiable Voting for Everyone: http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=1875 Accessibility issues: http://www.votersunite.org/info/accessibility.asp Open Source Solutions Open source software offers a paper based handicapped accessible and transparent solution to voting. http://www.openvotingconsortium.org/our_solution Equalivote Equalivote is a stand-alone, computer-free, non-electronic device that is in full compliance with the accessibility access requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). It can accommodate paper ballots of all sizes, types, and manufacturers. http://www.equalivote.com/ FAILURES Report: Voting Problems in Several Swing States (CNN Election Center 2008) http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/18/voting.problems/index.html List of Failures of Diebold TSx machines http://www.votersunite.org/info/Dieboldinthenews.pdf Report: Voting Problems in Several Swing States (CNN Election Center 2008) High Profile Paperless Voting Machine Failures (Common Cause) http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=3871663 Report Outlines Midterm E-Voting Failures http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070106-8563.html NEWS ARTICLES OF INTEREST The Two Faces of Diebold - Stunning Document Surfaces to Show That America's #1 Voting Machine Manufacturer Hides Security and Operation Flaws from The State of Maryland and the Country http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-abrahams/the-two-faces-of-diebold_b_33138.html Forbes Magazine article, "Pull The Plug." Avi Rubin discusses problems with voting machines and his solution. http://www.truthout.org/article/aviel-rubin-pull-plug-electronic-voting Washington Post article, "A Single Person Could Swing An Election." Electronic System's Weaknesses May Be Countered With Audits, Report Suggests. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/27/AR2006062701451.html Electronic Voting Machines: Programmed for Failure? http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1041&Itemid=26