Diebold fate hangs on whether its voting software can be fixed By Ian Hoff

[helderheid]

Diebold fate hangs on whether its voting software can be fixed By Ian Hoffman

For more than two years, Diebold Election Systems Inc. has hit one political or technical snag after another trying to reap more than $40 million in voting-machine sales in California.

Now only a collection of tiny software files on Diebold's latest voting machines stand in the way of those revenues and more. Last summer, a Finnish computer expert using an agricultural device found he could rig the votes stored on Diebold's memory cards and rewrite one of those files to cover his tracks.

The revelation posed a double problem for Diebold: Not only could its optical-scanning voting machines be hacked, but state and federal rules for more than a year have forbidden those files in voting machines.

This week, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, UC-Davis and a private, testing lab in Huntsville, Ala., are studying those files under strict promises of confidentiality. What they find could bear directly on what kind of voting systems almost a third of California counties will use in the 2006 elections and indirectly on Diebold's viability as a voting company.

Rest here >>>

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_3427025

A must read! I just sent this to my county clerk!

[QC]

1. Does Ian Hoffman absolutely have to be the person who fixes the software,

or can someone else do it?

[helderheid]

2. BWAHAHAHA!

:spray:

[QC]

7. Sorry...I just couldn't resist.... n/t

[EFerrari]

5. Someone call Ian and explain voter verified paper ballots to him.

He sounds like a smart guy. Maybe he can be retrained?

:kick:

[ContraBass Black]

3. And how hard will it be to unfix?

[phoebe]

4. see same post under Election Reform discussion group

this is not good news IMO..

[helderheid]

6. It's good news that the truth is coming out in the MSM and perhaps we can

decertify these machines. Like I said, I sent this to my County Clerk.

[phoebe]

8. then are you aware that the "private, testing lab in Hunstville, Ala" is

is one of the labs - Nichols Research - that is tied to the Election Center, R. Doug Lewis and a whole lot of devious goings on. This very lab made a lot of us suspicious at the very beginning of this whole election scam situation. Anyone else remember Shawn Southworth et al?? CIBER?? Ties to the military industrial complex?? and it goes on and on..

Great - the SAME lab that was suspect is once again doing "testing"..

PS. Shawn Southworth was the ONLY person picked by R. Doug Lewis to certify ALL voting machines..

[helderheid]

9. Oh good lord!

My stomach is now twisting!!

[phoebe]

10. sorry - we must hope that the Berkeley/Davis investigators aren't

in on the scam as well..