WaPo: MD repub gov Erlich calls for paper ballots, says Diebold not secure

[Amaryllis]

More MSM coverage!

Touch-Screen Voting Fallible, Ehrlich Says
Elections Official Urged To Back Paper-Ballot Bill

By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 6, 2006; B01

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) has embraced a legislative proposal to abandon the state's touch-screen voting machines for the coming election, in which he is a candidate, and to lease others that provide a paper record to verify results.

"Maryland's lack of a paper trail means we are no longer a national leader in elections systems and that our equipment is susceptible to system failures," the governor wrote in a letter to be delivered today to the chairman of the State Board of Elections. "It is inexcusable for us not to be prepared for a catastrophic system failure in the 2006 cycle."

Ehrlich's endorsement is the latest turn in the debate over Maryland's electronic voting machines that were used in nearly every polling place in the 2004 election. The state has committed $90 million to the system, which critics say is vulnerable to tampering.

State Elections Board Chairman Gilles W. Burger and Administrator Linda H. Lamone have defended the current system, made by Diebold Election Systems, as secure and the most accurate in the nation.

For the rest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/05/AR2006030501045_pf.html

[MasonJar]

1. That is indeed surprising. He must be way behind in the race.

[DarienComp]

2. I'm surprised that Ehrlich is taking this position...

since he imposed some very chilling restrictions on the media in Maryland, including banning federal employees from talking to certain journalists. Read this Daily Kos post for more.

Perhaps his poll numbers aren't looking so hot right now?

edited for clarity

[Tiggeroshii]

3. I thought he already did it

Hurry up already! Any politician seeking an honest re election needs to embrace this proposal in every state.

[Botany]

4. You mean the machines w/ infra red data ports on the sides ....

.... so as to allow manipulation and input of data without any physical connection?

those machines might have a problem?

or the one (1, uno, 43-42=, ....) diebold machine in Volusia County Florida gave bush
16,000 votes after NBC, CBS, & ABC all had called the State for Gore

a problem?

Or that we still can not see the data from the 04 machines in Alaska in march of 06

a problem?

or in Ohio that Diebold went around handing out bribes to county BOE heads

a probelm?

[MissWaverly]

5. Oh, I hope I get a paper ballot, not a Repug machine

I know everyone is tired of me saying it, but I saw my voting machine default to GWB 5 times
in 2004 in beautiful, balmy, Baltimore, Maryland or as the railroad conductors say
Baltytimooooooore. I am hoping that I get a paper ballot.

:-)