BBV: NY TIMES article includes voting machine industry lobbyist quotes

[Eric J in MN]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/15/technology/15neco.html?8hpib=&pagewanted=all&position=

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The industry insists that its systems are secure and trustworthy, with or without paper. Harris Miller, who leads a new trade association for the industry, said that the group had no position in favor or against paper trails, but dismissed the issue as a "theological debate within the academic community." Mr. Miller, who is also president of the Information Technology Association of America, called some opponents of electronic voting "black helicopter theorists" and Luddites who "want to go back to the bad old days" of stuffed ballot boxes and chad wars.

But some of the critics know a lot about computing, security and elections - like Prof. Aviel D. Rubin at Johns Hopkins University, who led a team that analyzed purloined code from Diebold and found flaws that he said even basic training in secure coding would prevent. His work was cited in Nevada's decision to choose Sequoia's machines over Diebold's. "The only way that vendors are going to produce auditable machines is if they are forced to,'' Professor Rubin said. "So the recent moves of California and Nevada to require voter verifiable paper are huge steps in the right direction."

----another part of the article
Not all of Diebold's employees are so supportive of change, as Web sites that have sprung up in opposition to the machines have shown. Among the thousands of internal e-mail messages from the company that have made their way to anti-Diebold Web sites is a Jan. 3 message to colleagues by an employee identified only as Ken. Referring to criticisms of the Diebold, he wrote that news articles about a paper trail missed an important point, which he italicized: "they already bought the system."

"At this point they are just closing the barn door,'' Ken wrote. "Let's just hope that as a company we are smart enough to charge out the yin if they try to change the rules now and legislate voter receipts." In a later note he explained that he meant, "Any after-sale changes should be prohibitively expensive."

[dweller]

1. "smart enough to charge out the yin"

makes no sense unless it's quoted in the original, mr. ken.

'smart enough to charge out the yin-yang' i believe you said.
already reported by NPR, and other sources.
more creative editing by NYT.

dp

[Eric J in MN]

2. actually, I think Ken of Diebold wrote it both ways

I don't have a link, but I saw somewhere that in one email Ken used the term "yin" and in another email he used the term "yin-yang."

[LauraT28]

3. Paper Absentee Ballot for me....

from now on!

I used the "new and improved" electronic voting in Florida. It's a BLACK HOLE. You don't even get a printout of who/what you voted for!!

Scam! :puke:

Laura

[dusty64]

4. Kick!

:kick:

[Armstead]

5. kick

[ithacan]

6. Diebold should be barred from contracts

for voting machines.

What they are doing is disgusting and at a minimum lead people to question their integrity.