California Voter Foundation Warns Against Touchscreen Voting in March 2

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Primary

The nonprofit, nonpartisan California Voter Foundation (CVF) is urging voters to avoid voting on electronic touchscreens in the March 2 election, and cast votes by paper absentee ballots instead. Kim Alexander, CVF president, said security concerns, questionable oversight practices, and an inability to conduct meaningful audits of election results make the touchscreens risky at this time.

Ballots cast on electronic voting machines do not allow voters to verify how their vote is recorded, as there is no paper record. Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has announced he will require a voter-verified paper record of every digital ballot cast, but this requirement does not take effect until July 2006.

“Our advice,” Alexander said, “is to cast your votes on paper.”

Fourteen counties, comprising 40 percent of the state's voters, will use touchscreens in the March 2 election. They include Alameda, Kern, Merced, Napa, Orange, Plumas, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Shasta, Solano, and Tehama.

Los Angeles County will use a paper system for votes cast on Election Day and by absentee, but has also made electronic systems available countywide, for those who wish to vote early.

Security concerns related to electronic systems have been heightened due to a number of recent developments:
The State of Maryland commissioned an independent study to test the security of Diebold’s voting system. The computer security firm they hired was easily able to hack into the system, record multiple votes and alter vote counts on the machines – both on site and remotely. The Maryland report is the third independent investigation of Diebold's software to discover serious problems. The Diebold system studied is the same one used by several California counties.

After learning that some counties used an uncertified version of Diebold's software in the October 7, 2003 Recall election, the Secretary of State's office launched an investigation into all 17 counties using Diebold voting equipment. Although the investigation is still pending, preliminary results show that all counties using Diebold voting equipment were using uncertified versions of Diebold software during the October and November elections.

In response to growing concerns about electronic voting security, California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley issued a directive to all electronic voting counties outlining additional security steps, including parallel monitoring and posting of official results outside polling places at the close of polls. However, ten county registrars are refusing to cooperate with this directive, insisting that existing security and oversight is adequate.

Four counties -- Kern, San Joaquin, Solano and San Diego -- will use Diebold's new TSx machine for the Primary, despite the machine's lack of federal approval. There is no guarantee the machines will be federally approved by March 2.

Requests for absentee ballots must be received by county registrar-recorders by February 24. Voters can mail in their absentee ballots, or return them to their polling place on Election Day.

Any irregularities in the March 2 vote should be reported to the Secretary of State's toll-free Voter Protection Hotline, which is 1-800-345-VOTE (800-345-8683).

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