Colorado's Republican Sec. of State Decertifies E-Voting Machines After Failed Testing

[BradBlog]

Source: BRAD BLOG

BREAKING: Colorado's Republican Sec. of State Decertifies E-Voting Machines After Failed Testing
All Voting Systems by ES&S Completely Decertified; DRE Touch-Screens from Sequoia Banned; Optical-Scan Paper Systems by Hart InterCivic Banned; All Systems by Diebold/Premier Conditionally Allowed for Use!
SoS Admits Federal Certification Process, Now Overseen by Former CO SoS on Behalf of EAC, 'Has Been Very Weak to Date'...

Colorado's Republican Secretary of State, Mike Coffman, has announced that a number of Colorado's e-voting machines have failed state certification testings, and will not be allowed for use in the 2008 election cycle. The announcements came at a news conference in Denver which completely just minutes ago.

Describing the state's testing of four major voting machine companies previously certified in the state, Coffman explained to reporters at the presser that there were "over 3000 tests on each vendor's systems, and over 40,000 pages documenting the tests."

"This has been an extensive process," he said, after detailing several remarkable findings from each of the systems testing. For example, test results showed that paper-based optical-scan systems made by Hart InterCivic "could not accurately count ballots." While Direct Recording Electronic (DRE, usually touch-screen) systems made by ES&S, the world's largest supplier of voting systems, could be disabled by "denial of service" attacks at the pollng place with a device as simple as a magnet.

"If you were to put a magnet in close proximity or inside the port," Coffman said at the press conference today, "that would, infact, disable that particular voting machines and it would have to be literally reprogrammed...to bring in back into circulation for that election."

While virtually all of the systems tested were found to have major vulnerabilities, a number of them were "conditionally certified" for use as long as new security mitigation requirements are met. Notably, both op-scan systems and DREs made by Diebold (now known as Premier) were given conditional certification for use, despite Diebold systems having been banned in several states previously, including California, Ohio and Florida, due to a long list of critical vulnerabilities....

A summary of the decertified and conditionally certified systems follow (links to more information on each, at the end of the article)...

FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5451


Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5451

[Demeter]

1. And Another State Draws Back From the Brink

I think we've got a trend here, folks!

[Xipe Totec]

4. You kiddin? Every one decertified BUT Diebold.

[rockymountaindem]

2. I bet the Republican leadership isn't impressed with him.

OTOH, Ken Gordon, the Democratic candidate for that post, probably would have decertified them all on general principle.

[El Supremo]

10. From Ken Gordon>>

Today the Secretary of State announced the result of his electronic voting machine testing. (See press release below.) He decertified electronic voting machines from three of the four national vendors affecting dozens of Colorado counties including Denver, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Mesa and Pueblo.

Tomorrow I am going to hold a legislative hearing where the Secretary of State will present his findings and recommendations. This is the first step toward legislation to ensure that all Coloradans can vote and that their votes are counted accurately.

It is too early to know what legislation will be necessary. I wanted to get this email out quickly because this is a significant event, and I always try to keep the people on my list informed so they can be the first on their block to know.

Sincerely,

Ken Gordon
Majority Leader Colorado Senate

[BradBlog]

11. And Coffman may be leaving the post entirely soon...

...to run for Tancredo's seat, as I've heard it told.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Never expected to read this. What great news. Thanks. n/t

[Xipe Totec]

5. Diebold/Premier Conditionally Allowed for Use

I don't think this is good news.

:scared:

[aquart]

6. What are the conditions?

When hell freezes over?

[Xipe Totec]

7. Doubt it

But the rest were UNCONDITIONALLY decertified.

That means Diebold is the ONLY game in town.

[MasonJar]

8. The headline was misleading; it made it seem that he had banned the

electronic voting systems. He is still allowing Diebold, the most notorious of all. Handcounted ballots everywhere!

[Hekate]

9. How many states is this now? When will they all realize they were sold a bill of goods?...

...and an expensive one at that.

While it pleased me that Kitty Pilgrim on Tweety's show actually did a segment on Ohio's voting machines, she used the RW meme "voter fraud", when it's really fraud by vote suppression/voting machinery/vote counting and other means.

I think we are making progress in public awareness, nonetheless, and that's a good thing.

Hekate

[Ian David]

12. All Your Votes are Belong to Diebold. This is NOT actually good, I think. n/t

[pleah]

14. I agree!

[Vinca]

13. And to think they called us crazy people for saying Kerry won. nt