biased and damning article.. no Republicans anywhere in sight..
http://www.newtimesbpb.com/issues/2004-07-01/norman.htmlsnip
Oliphant pointed out that the company had no experience in large urban areas like South Florida and recommended Sequoia Voting Systems, a company with a better track record. But the commission, led by lobbyist-loving Lori Parrish, picked ES&S, which had hired a couple of her cronies to help win the $17.2 million contract (which ballooned to more than $20 million after the county bought another 1,000 touch-screen devices). The 2001 vote, though, was just the beginning of bad behavior on the part of Parrish and the voting machines.
snip
A bungled primary, computer glitches, and high labor costs have proven Oliphant dead right. The 2002 primary election, fraught with delays and tabulation errors, cost nearly $1 million more than forecast due to unexpected complications and a need for extra poll workers.
The system's auditing process, which tracks the number of votes cast on each machine, has also proven faulty. Instead of using zip-bang computer "flashcards" promised by the company, the county must extract the information by connecting each of its 6,000 machines to laptops. Amazingly, Assistant County Administrator Pete Corwin, who has worked closely (too closely, one suspects) with ES&S, tells New Times the use of laptops hasn't proven more time-consuming or costly.
snip
(ES&S) The company knew how to woo Parrish, who was then chairwoman of the commission. It hired the right lobbyists. One was Russ Klenet, a Parrish compatriot who served as a campaign official for Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, another politician who adores influence peddlers and can't seem to resist their alluring ways.
much more..