March 20, 2007

"Machines record votes inaccurately in tests"

"Voting machines malfunctioned repeatedly during testing Monday as Montgomery County (Ohio) officials responded to complaints that the touch-screen electronic machines inaccurately recorded votes during the November election.

Officials found more than two dozen machines out of 62 tested recorded votes inaccurately; they anticipate finding more problems today when they test another 63 machines.

"I'm surprised the number that we have here," said Mark Radke, director of marketing for voting machine supplier Diebold Elections Systems.

The failures raise concerns that an undetermined number of voters may have cast ballots without noticing the mistakes, said Ellis Jacobs, senior attorney for Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc.

Officials believe the machines properly tally the votes recorded, said Steve Harsman, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections. The problem is that the machines did not always accurately record the vote in the first place."

The story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at March 20, 2007 10:52 AM