February 28, 2007

"Test of Riverside County voting machines called limited"

"California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen said a proposed hacking test of Riverside County's voting machines fails to address the larger issue of security among people with access to the machines outside polling hours.

A letter from Bowen distributed to county supervisors Tuesday was sent in response to an inquiry from Supervisor Jeff Stone about the legality of his proposal to allow critics of electronic voting 15 minutes to hack into a machine.

Bowen said there was nothing prohibiting the type of test Stone proposed conducting.

Stone was traveling Tuesday and unavailable for comment. In the past, Stone said the test would disprove naysayers, whom he said have launched unfounded accusations against the integrity of the county's Sequoia voting machines. The machines were first used in 2000.SAVE R VOTE, a Temecula Valley elections watchdog group, accepted Stone's hacking challenge earlier this year but insisted that more time be given.

The group enlisted Finnish computer security expert Harri Hursti, who agreed to come to Riverside County. Two years ago, Hursti uncovered severe flaws in a different electronic system used in Leon County, Fla., hacking into it in a test and changing the results.

Bowen declined Stone's invitation to attend the test."

The article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at February 28, 2007 09:48 AM