Diebold Voting Machines Miscount During Test. What??

[Stevepol]

How can that be? Voting machines can miscount? In an official test? Tell me it ain't so! Everybody knows the exit polls are untrustworthy! And now we can't trust the machines either??


DAYTON DAILY NEWS

Machines record votes inaccurately in tests
Touch-screens failed in more than 24 of 62 devices tested in Montgomery County after voters complained.

By Lynn Hulsey

Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

DAYTON — Voting machines malfunctioned repeatedly during testing Monday as Montgomery County officials responded to complaints that the touch-screen electronic machines inaccurately recorded votes during the November election.

Officials found more than two dozen machines out of 62 tested recorded votes inaccurately; they anticipate finding more problems today when they test another 63 machines.

"I'm surprised the number that we have here," said Mark Radke, director of marketing for voting machine supplier Diebold Elections Systems.

The failures raise concerns that an undetermined number of voters may have cast ballots without noticing the mistakes, said Ellis Jacobs, senior attorney for Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc.

Officials believe the machines properly tally the votes recorded, said Steve Harsman, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections. The problem is that the machines did not always accurately record the vote in the first place.

For example: In the Ohio Supreme Court race the tester touched the edge of the box for Ben Espy and the machine instead marked his opponent, Robert Cupp. In another case a "yes" vote for State Issue 1 repeatedly resulted in the machine recording a "no" vote.

"Hundreds, if not thousands, voted on (these machines). You would think most of the voters would have caught that error but it's very likely that some of them didn't," Jacobs said.

His group collected complaints from voters about the machines in November and called for an investigation by the county board of elections and Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The machines being tested this week were the ones identified in those complaints.

On Monday Brunner sent three representatives to observe the testing and will use that experience to assist with a planned statewide review of electronic voting machines, said Patrick Gallaway, communications director for Brunner.

Radke defended the quality of the machines, saying problems were found in a fraction of the 2,530 voting machines used by Montgomery County. He also said the malfunctions may be linked to the machines being jarred during transport to voting places.

Radke said the machines allow voters to easily check that their votes registered properly before casting their electronic ballots.

Harsman said lessons learned in the testing process — such as the use of a fine-point stylus rather than a finger to calibrate them — will improve voting machine performance in future elections. Recalibration of the screens resolved the problem in 14 machines on Monday and five identified last week. Another 14 will be sent back to Diebold because they couldn't be fixed, Harsman said.




Link:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/20/ddn032007elex.html

[aquart]

1. But they're gonna use 'em anyway, right?

[John Q. Citizen]

7. i'm not so sure. That new Dem SOS seems on the ball.

[Vincardog]

2. Duh who wud a thought it?

[Sapere aude]

3. "machines being jarred during transport" Oh then no problem!

The machines didn't register the votes correctly becaused they were jarred so foget about it!

[Votergater]

4. I have interviewed Mark Radke...

...and he is the most dedicated Marketing Director I have ever seen and I believe every word he says.

[Stevepol]

14. I have seen Radke on TV and heard him on radio several times

and he seems to me to be the most dedicated purveyor of the claptrap that the vendors have to offer up and I don't believe a word he says. When has he ever told the truth?

[Votergater]

15. I interviewed Mark Radke in the HBO documentary 'Hacking Democracy'....

...so my previous post was tongue in cheek. But I agree with you, 'Dedicated Purveyor Of Claptrap' seems a much more fitting title than 'Marketing Director'.

[Contrite]

17. Radke was "surprised"!

:rofl:

[Frustratedlady]

5. They keep finding these problems with the machines...

then, you never hear another thing about it. When are they going to do something? When are they going to have a federal investigation, or did I sleep through one?

[Greyskye]

6. They used FINGERS to do the touch screen calibration????

Harsman said lessons learned in the testing process — such as the use of a fine-point stylus rather than a finger to calibrate them — will improve voting machine performance in future elections.

If these idiots didn't know enough to do calibration of a touch-screen properly (this has got to be about the SIMPLEST technical procedure in the world!), we are well and truly 'screwn'. :scared:

[MissWaverly]

8. we saw the error but the machine defaults to preset defaults

ever see you computer boot up and give you a menu, what choices do you have on how it does
that, fairly limited, the same way with the Help America Vote for Bush Act, the architect
of which Bob Ney (R-Ohio), (is no longer in office due to his misdeeds). When I tried to
type R-Ohio, I kept getting the $$$$ sign, hmmm, wonder why that was.

:-)

[Canuckistanian]

9. Whoopsie! My bad. Here, let me "reload" the software

Gee, I hope that didn't happen during the REAL election.

[BillORightsMan]

10. Diebold Defender Excuses: PRICELESS!

Radke defended the quality of the machines, saying problems were found in a fraction of the 2,530 voting machines used by Montgomery County. (Yep JUST A FRACTION...just enough to tip a FEW races, that's all...nothing to see here...move on. -Ed.)
He also said the malfunctions may be linked to the machines being jarred during transport to voting places.

Radke went on to say, "I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! It wasn't my fault, I swear to god!"

BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA! :rofl:

[bagrman]

11. VOTE BY MAIL-VOTE BY MAIL- VOTE BY MAIL - Change now before next election.

Doesn't anyone know where these things are stored, and have any knid of imagination on what to do about them.

Latr

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. use Diebold's handy dandy vote by mail system

vote by mail further lengthens the chain of custody and voting machines
are still used to count the votes.

Further some seek voting machine companies software to sort and authenticate
the ballot signatures.

Absentee Process

When it comes to Absentee Voting, election jurisdictions across the country are faced with the same kinds of problems: lack of manpower, spiraling mailing expenses and obsolete technology.

Now more than ever before, resources are stretched to their limit and beyond with no relief in sight. Until now.

With Diebold Election Systems, there’s a smarter, better way. It’s called VoteRemote Suite™, and it’s changing the way Absentee Voting is done.
http://www.diebold.com/dieboldes/solutions_absentee.asp

Tell folks in Florida to vote by mail, considering the mystery of the disappeared
tens of thousands of absentee ballots in 2004 was never solved.

[autorank]

12. K&R Classic line:)

"Harsman said lessons learned in the testing process — such as the use of a fine-point stylus rather than a finger to calibrate them — will improve voting machine performance in future elections. Recalibration of the screens resolved the problem in 14 machines on Monday and five identified last week. Another 14 will be sent back to Diebold because they couldn't be fixed, Harsman said."

[In Truth We Trust]

13. Hand Counted Paper Ballots NOW! k&r

[Bill Bored]

16. Nothing new here. Diebold miscounted in PA during Shamos' eval.

They counted Republican votes correctly though and he certified them.

And those were only the optical scanners!

Imagine what's going on under the hood of the DREs?

I'm not saying Shamos is a partisan hack (the PA Gov and SoS were Dems!), but it's clear that quality control is not taken seriously by these vendors and there is no one holding them accountable.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. I'm shocked, shocked I tell ya n/t