November 22, 2005

"Voting machines draw fire at hearing"

"Touchscreen voting machines that San Joaquin County officials hope to use in June's primary election drew heavy criticism during a 41/21/2-hour hearing Monday near the state Capitol.

County Registrar of Voters Deborah Hench was the only person to support Diebold's TSx equipment out of more than 50 who spoke to a panel of Secretary of State Bruce McPherson's staff. More than 1,600 of the controversial machines are sitting in a Stockton warehouse because the state decertified them last year after the vote-counters experienced problems in other counties.

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Critics believe the touchscreen equipment is vulnerable to freezes, paper jams and hacking, and encourages voter fraud. They also say Diebold -- which former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley accused of lying about the TSx's certification for the March 2004 primary -- has too spotty a record to be responsible for ballots.

Hench told the panel that the system's flaws have been corrected through adjustments and by adding a printer so votes can be verified through a paper trail. She also said that, unlike San Diego and Alameda counties, San Joaquin had no problems with the touchscreen equipment during the March 2004 election.

"We need this system," Hench told the panel. "It is a good, accurate system. Others may question that, but I do not."

Here is the article.

Posted by Randy Riddle at November 22, 2005 07:56 AM