Solano County pays $415,000 to get out of e-voting contract

[struggle4progress]

Posted on Wed, Sep. 01, 2004

Associated Press


FAIRFIELD, Calif. - Solano County paid $415,000 to get out of a contract with voting equipment manufacturer Diebold Inc., and county officials will instead buy $4.2 million in new equipment from a rival company.

Deputy County Counsel Wendy Getty said the county reached a settlement Aug. 16 with Diebold. The North Canton, Ohio-based company installed nearly 1,200 paperless touchscreen voting machines throughout the county after winning the contract in 2002.

The county was one of dozens across the country that opted for electronic ballots to avoid problems with "hanging chads" that plagued the 2000 presidential election.

But in May, California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley banned the type of machines used in Solano and three other counties after discovering uncertified software and other problems that potentially "jeopardized" the outcomes of the March presidential primary and other elections. Computer scientists had alerted state officials of serious security breaches with the paperless system, which does not include printers and does not produce paper records suitable for a recount in case of a contested election.
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http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/state/9554813.htm

[aquart]

1. NO! No more "equipment!"

None of these machines is safe!

[Zan_of_Texas]

2. Right, A.

I'll sell them MY voting machines -- pens and paper, and there will be enough money left over for ice cream or other treats for every person who votes and every person who stays after to count or watch the count.

Electronic voting machines are dangerous

J U N K!