AP -- Diebold Considers Dropping E-Voting Unit

[nicknameless]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DIEBOLD_CEO?SITE=FLSTU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Diebold CEO Reviews Fate of e-Voting Unit

By M.R. KROPKO AP Business Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

NORTH CANTON, Ohio — Diebold Inc.'s new chief executive, determined to cut $100 million in costs over three years, said he is reviewing whether the company should continue investing in its embattled electronic voting business.

<snip>

Diebold's former chairman and CEO, Walden O'Dell, resigned Dec. 12 after several years of controversy surrounding Diebold's touch-screen voting machines and O'Dell's financial contributions to President Bush's campaign.

O'Dell gained notoriety in 2003 when he invited people to a fundraiser for Bush with a letter stating he planned to help "Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president."

Within two days of O'Dell's departure, investors sued Diebold, claiming it made misleading comments about its e-voting business.

<snip>

But Diebold touch-screen voting machines became subject to scrutiny, when questions arose as to the security of the software and whether results could be manipulated. There were also several widely reported glitches, especially in some of California's elections.

The company a week ago reported its earnings slumped 76 percent to $14.6 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31 even as sales rose 15 percent. The earnings dropped mainly because of companywide restructuring and other charges.

"Other charges"? I think he meant to write "changes", but the Freudian slip is appropriate and appreciated. :D

The rest is typical corporate hooey.
Hopefully these machines will meet their deserved fate (per Peace Patriot) and get dumped in Boston Harbor.

:popcorn:

[freedomfries]

1. k & r

[rox63]

2. Here's the link

K&R because we really need some good news.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DIEBOLD_CEO?SITE=FLSTU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[nicknameless]

3. Thanks for the link!

:hi:

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. Damn I hate being cynical sometimes. I want to take this as good news, but

my first thought was speculating what GOP controlled company was poised to slip into their slot.

[Wilms]

5. That ain't cynical. It's logical. n/t

[nicknameless]

7. Maybe it would help to think of them as tin ducks in a shooting gallery.

Or maybe Whack-a-Mole. They show up, and we do our best to smack them down.

Maybe some day, true conservatives will take back the Republican party and stop it from functioning like a crime syndicate.

[harmonyguy]

6. Other Charges?.....

"Other charges"? I think he meant to write "changes"
In the context of restructuring and earnings, other charges IS the correct term.
The charges, like restructuring charges, would be taken against earnings.
HG

[nicknameless]

8. Hmm. I read it as charges against the company affecting the bottom line.

(... meaning: criminal charges)

Okay. It was an appropriate and appreciated double entendre.

;)

[cyberpj]

9. They did what they needed to do. If they bow out, they'll never be exposed

[dusty64]

10. Lets hope a progressive

buys it. Bet there will be a discussion of the dangers of these systems then........

[Algorem]

11. Diebold's new 'non-political' CEO donated $2,000 to Bush in 2003

...In an interview with reporters on February 6, new-CEO Thomas Swidarski said he had no political connections. According to campaign donations listed by the Center for Responsive Politics, that’s a dirty, dirty lie. Swidarski gave Bush $2,000 in 2003.

While shares of Diebold stock are now going for about $37 apiece, it’s actually less expensive to buy the electronic equipment needed to hack into their voting machines. To prove how easy it is to manipulate Diebold equipment, rebels at BlackBoxVoting.org recently videotaped a chimpanzee hacking into an audit log of tallied votes. No joke. A monkey hacked Diebold.

Hacking, however, may soon be a moot point. On January 31, the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 3, a piece of election-reform legislation requiring voters to show ID before casting a ballot. Don’t have one? Too bad! As an added bonus, the part of the bill requiring random audits of Diebold’s election results was removed prior to its passing.

Those interested in hacking a Diebold machine can do so at the 2006 Home & Garden Show, at the I-X Center through Sunday. Cuyahoga County election supervisors will be on hand to help curious citizens “test drive” the new machines. Hacking equipment sold separately.

— James Renner

http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3068&POSTNUKESID=86cad678c7511d1206e3b0a1ca154dd9


Diebold-ly into the future

Voters can test-drive the new electronic voting machines beginning today at the 2006 Home and Flower Show at Cleveland’s IX-Center. There, election officials from Cuyahoga County will conduct mock elections – using the names of dead presidents from Ohio -- on the controversial touch-screen devices made by Diebold Election Systems. Board officials plan to demonstrate the machines at paid events like this show and at other free events leading up to the May 2 primary, when all elections in the state will be conducted on electronic voting machines.
--Mark Naymik

http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/openers/



The Business of Elections

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:Y-fUxr5JzXEJ:www.votetrustusa.org/pdfs/electionline_081104.pdf+Center+for+Responsive+Politics,Swidarski&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4

[nicknameless]

12. Newsmeat has record of that contribution too.

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=OH&last=Swidarski&first=Thomas

The more I think about this story, the more cynical I get.
He lied about being apolitical. What else is he lying about?

Could be that he's trying to calm concerns about Diebold machinations, saying that the e-voting may be eliminated -- while at the same time, doing the exact opposite and ramping up more Diebold sales and plans for election theft.
... After all, rethugs always do the opposite from what they say they're doing.

[EFerrari]

13. I was so happy to make that 10 votes.

Can we make it 20?

:kick:

[Amaryllis]

14. So what happens to all those counties with Diebold machines? No one left

to service them? How will people feel then about election officials who rushed into buying them? And what about Kevin shelley, who had the wisdom to decertify and put the skids on more purchases, and pissed off a lot of people in the process? Bet they're glad now.

[nicknameless]

15. Sorry to say, but the more I think about this, the more cynical I get.

Reiterating from post #12:

Diebold's new CEO lied about being non-political. What else is he lying about?

Could be that he's trying to calm concerns about Diebold machinations, saying that the e-voting division may be eliminated -- while at the same time, doing the exact opposite and ramping up more Diebold sales and plans for election theft?

Again, rethugs always do the opposite from what they say they're doing.

Well, we'll see........

[Bill Bored]

16. Out of the frying pan, into the fire!

Don't you realize that Diebold is an easy target because it's a public company and because they were dumb enough to leave their software out on the web where anyone could grab it?

If the Elections division were owned by professionals -- and privately held -- we would know very little about the deficiencies of their junk. Sort of like ES&S!

Right now, at least the earlier versions of Diebold's s/w (which actually belonged to Global Election Systems) is practically open source. We know the weaknesses and we can complain about them. And still, the crap gets certified, no one audits the ballot definition settings, and we have laws in states in like FL that ban hand counts!

Imagine how it will be in 5 years when the new Diebold is totally under the RADAR. Who will be able to bitch about then? I have an idea, how about the EAC, the testing labs, and the standards writers who have allowed this junk to be "certified?" In fact, why wait 5 years? How about NOW?

Diebold is just a symptom my friends -- not the disease!
Be careful what you wish for.

That said, how much are they selling it for? Can we ask George Soros and the Kerries to chip in along with the rest of us and buy it? Just make sure we take away all their document and email shredders first. ;)

On edit: the fastest way to get the Pukes to support verifiable elections would be for the Dems to OWN one of these companies! Just look at the uproar the Venezuelan connection to Sequoia has caused in the Puke ranks. Imagine if the Dems had their own e-votin' company? HR 550 would be signed into law in about 5 mins, and that's just for starters!