January 12, 2006

"ES&S Efforts Ease Calif. E-voting Concerns

"So far, the California secretary of state's office is satisfied with the efforts of electronic voting systems maker Election Systems & Software Inc. to address concerns about its machines.

The state had notified the Omaha-based company last November that unease about the accuracy of the voting machines may force a decertification of the units.

In a letter sent to the manufacturer, Assistant Secretary of State for Elections Bradley Clark cited a problem encountered during a Nov. 8 test of the system, when a vote was apparently displayed inaccurately.

The state's certification proc-ess requires testing of voting system vendors.

ES&S has been working with the state to address issues that were raised by the test, said a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Bruce McPherson.

"At this point, they've been very responsive to our needs," the spokeswoman said.

She said that shortly after the letter was sent, ES&S officials "came in and addressed each issue point by point. Each one has either been resolved or they will be required to find a solution."

She was unsure when ES&S will complete the compliance process."

The story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at January 12, 2006 11:57 AM