Voting machine maker says time prevented fix

[babylonsister]

(I searched to see if this had been posted, but did not find. I also can't find a date for this, so don't know how current it is.)

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070315/NEWS/703150423

Voting machine maker says time prevented fix

Touch-screen voting machine maker says time prevented 'issue' fix
By JEREMY WALLACE

Even though a voting machine manufacturer told Sarasota County and state officials they were working on a software update to fix an "issue" with touch-screen voting machines for the 2006 general elections, the company never followed through on that promise.

A spokesman for Election Systems & Software said they couldn't get the work done fast enough to get the system fixed, so the patch was never submitted to the state for approval and the issue was never raised again in correspondence between the company, the county and the state.

Company spokesman David Fields downplayed the "issue" ES&S had identified in earlier memos, saying the delayed response times voters may have experienced in selecting a choice in each race on the ballot was not responsible for the undervote problems that arose in Sarasota County.

"ES&S did have a firmware upgrade available to address this issue, but due to the upcoming election the certification process could not have been finalized," Fields said in a written statement. "The update will be part of the next system submitted for certification later this year."

A spokesman for Democrat Christine Jennings said the memo is significant because it shows there were problems with the voting machines that had previously been withheld from the public and from Jennings' attorneys, who have asked for all correspondence about potential issues with the voting machines.

more...

[Turbineguy]

1. You go to vote with the machine you have

and not the one you wish you had.

It's kind of like winning wars.

[yourout]

2. Oh they "Fixed" it alright.

[bleever]

3. "Bank robber says need for cash to blame in hold-up."

"ES&S did have a firmware upgrade available to address this issue, but due to the upcoming election the certification process could not have been finalized," Fields said in a written statement. "The update will be part of the next system submitted for certification later this year."

It takes a minute to upgrade firmware on a PC. So they're saying they had the fix, but didn't deliver it as promised, because of the darn certification rules.

Damn you, bureaucratic rules that hinder our noble electronic servants!