E-Vote Memo Is a 'Smoking Gun'

[The Straight Story]

E-Vote Memo Is a 'Smoking Gun'

By Kim Zetter| Also by this reporter
05:00 AM Mar, 22, 2007

A memo sent last year by a voting machine maker to election officials in Florida has reignited controversy over the reliability and accuracy of the company's machines. Voting activists are now renewing calls to examine source code used in the Election Systems & Software machines during a close election last November.

Activists say the memo, which was uncovered last September but only came to prominence last week, proves that ES&S and Florida election officials knew about problems with the company's iVotronic touch-screen machines before the election, yet withheld the information from a court to prevent activists from examining the voting software.

The software, activists say, is crucial to a dispute over the 13th Congressional District race in November, in which Democrat Christine Jennings lost by fewer than 400 votes to Republican Vern Buchanan. Jennings and groups of voters filed separate lawsuits contending that the results were questionable because more than 18,000 ballots cast in Sarasota County mysteriously recorded no vote in the congressional race.

Activists say the ES&S memo points to a possible reason for the high "undervote" rate.

"This memo is the smoking gun that says, 'Yes, Houston, we have a problem,'" says Reginald Mitchell, lawyer for People for the American Way, which, along with other voting groups, filed a motion (.pdf) Tuesday asking the court to reopen its December ruling denying access to the ES&S code. "They had a duty to share it with the judge to say there was a problem with the machines and it's probably sanctionable that they didn't provide it. And there's no way they should have gone to the court and said everything is fine with their machines."

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,73048-0.html

[Patsy Stone]

1. Nice to see this getting out there!

"Dent said the memo is insignificant..."

Well, then I suppose it's all okay? :eyes:

Isn't it convenient that she wouldn't find it until someone (thanks, Brad!) noticed it was missing?

[Kurovski]

2. K&R.(nt)

[bleever]

3. If your bank said they lost your last ten deposits, but:

We sent you a memo. It told you that regardless of whether or not you read or heeded the memo, your last ten deposits were subject to disappearance.

Thank you for your business.