More on Electronic Voting
A laboratory that has tested most of the nation’s electronic voting systems has been temporarily barred from approving new machines after federal officials found that it was not following its quality-control procedures and could not document that it was conducting all the required tests.
The company, Ciber Inc. of Greenwood Village, Colo., has also come under fire from analysts hired by New York State over its plans to test new voting machines for the state. New York could eventually spend $200 million to replace its aging lever devices.
Read the full story.
It should come as no surprise that there are problems with the electronic voting machines. Independant researchers have gained access to the source code, developed techniques to access the hardware, reprogram the machines, and exploit bugs. All while state governments assured us that these very same machines (and the rights they represent) were secure.
Federal oversight, in the form of the federal Election Assistance Commission, has finally taken action. A report was compiled over the summer, but the commission didn't disclose the results of its study until recently. As a result, the nation's largest election machine testing company has lost its certification. In other words, the federal government has concluded that Ciber Inc. is not qualified to certify electronic voting machines as safe.
Will federal oversight lead to more secure voting machines? There is a long tradition of voter fraud in the United States, and it's always been something we tried to correct when it was brought to our attention. I'm hopeful, but I'm not holding my breath.
The company, Ciber Inc. of Greenwood Village, Colo., has also come under fire from analysts hired by New York State over its plans to test new voting machines for the state. New York could eventually spend $200 million to replace its aging lever devices.
Read the full story.
It should come as no surprise that there are problems with the electronic voting machines. Independant researchers have gained access to the source code, developed techniques to access the hardware, reprogram the machines, and exploit bugs. All while state governments assured us that these very same machines (and the rights they represent) were secure.
Federal oversight, in the form of the federal Election Assistance Commission, has finally taken action. A report was compiled over the summer, but the commission didn't disclose the results of its study until recently. As a result, the nation's largest election machine testing company has lost its certification. In other words, the federal government has concluded that Ciber Inc. is not qualified to certify electronic voting machines as safe.
Will federal oversight lead to more secure voting machines? There is a long tradition of voter fraud in the United States, and it's always been something we tried to correct when it was brought to our attention. I'm hopeful, but I'm not holding my breath.