BBV: Voting machine inspection weak (AL)

[Bushfire]

Counties will have to replace machines that don't meet guidelines
Sunday, June 27, 2004

MARY ORNDORFF
News Washington correspondent

WASHINGTON - Alabama does not inspect its voting machines as closely as some other states, an omission an electronic voting expert said could increase the chances of an inaccurate count on election day.

While other states have technical experts scrutinize and test the machines against their state's specific balloting needs, Alabama law allows officials to defer to an independent lab that tests all brands of electronic voting machines for conformity to national standards.

Intense, state-level certification is one of four layers of tests experts recommend, and missing any one of the layers is unwise, said Michael Shamos, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University and longtime expert in electronic voting. He told Congress last week that the national system to guard against technical glitches or fraud is weak and some states, like Alabama, have even weaker systems.

"We are less safe in 2004 than we were 20 years ago and possibly less safe than we were in 2000," Shamos said.

more...

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1088327829276080.xml

some in the media are finally getting it!

The best quote of the whole article: "In her 17 months in office, Alabama Secretary of State Nancy Worley said, the state's electronic voting committee - composed of five elected officials or their appointees - has met once."

[Bushfire]

1. bump

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