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Democrats seek probe of e-voting
Diebold disputes study of Cuyahoga machines
By Patrick Cain
Beacon Journal staff writer
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/15293430.htm
Democrats criticized Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell on Wednesday for potential electronic voting machine mishaps in Cuyahoga County.
Democrat Jennifer Brunner, who is running for Blackwell's job, called for an investigation into a charge by the Election Science Institute that electronic voting machines made by Green-based Diebold lost ballots in Cuyahoga County's May primary election.
Her Republican opponent, Greg Hartmann, would not say whether the company was at fault. Instead, his spokesman, Mark Weaver, called for a complete audit of the Secretary of State's Office.
Diebold takes issue with the study's findings.
``The conclusion of the reports were an error,'' Diebold spokesman Mark Radke said. ``Basically, it was a flawed audit.''
The election institute could not be reached for comment.
According to the 234-page study, one in six electronic voter tallies did not match the election's paper trail.
The report blames the problems on poll workers and machine errors.
``Here we go again,'' said state Rep. Dan Stewart, D-Columbus, who serves on the House Elections and Ethics Committee. ``I think one of the safest ways for folks to vote this year is going to be vote early and vote absentee, where you have a definite verified paper trail.''
James Lee, spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, said the apparent problems in Cuyahoga County are an anomaly. He said Stark County had five recounts using the same technology and didn't have any problems.
In fact, 49 of Ohio's 88 counties used Diebold machines and only Democratic-stronghold Cuyahoga County reported malfunctions, Lee said.
Brunner acknowledged more training was needed in Cuyahoga County.
``In the end, human error will trump technology,'' Brunner said, adding that it appears to be a machine problem when tallied votes don't add up to the recorded votes.
``This is like having a calculator that when you put in all the numbers, it doesn't add up correctly,'' she said.
After a ballot is cast, it is stored on a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail cartridge.
The study found 1.4 percent of the cartridges were missing ballots.
Because there is missing data, the study was ``unable to give a definitive opinion on the accuracy of the Diebold'' machines, according to the ESI study.
Brunner said that Blackwell, the state's chief elections officer who is running for governor, isn't investigating the matter fast enough and to the fullest extent.
``What I don't want to do in this process is increase fear; what I want to do is improve the process,'' she said.
Brunner and others believe a critical look at the source code, which are the instructions for how the electronic machines operate, would show whether there was an error.
Weaver said this is a protected trade secret.
Cuyahoga County hired Election Science Institute to study the May primary election. Unofficial tallies there were not concluded until five days after the balloting.
The San Francisco group is made up primarily of college professors from across the country, including three with ties to Ohio State University.
Diebold disputes study of Cuyahoga machines
By Patrick Cain
Beacon Journal staff writer
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/15293430.htm
Democrats criticized Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell on Wednesday for potential electronic voting machine mishaps in Cuyahoga County.
Democrat Jennifer Brunner, who is running for Blackwell's job, called for an investigation into a charge by the Election Science Institute that electronic voting machines made by Green-based Diebold lost ballots in Cuyahoga County's May primary election.
Her Republican opponent, Greg Hartmann, would not say whether the company was at fault. Instead, his spokesman, Mark Weaver, called for a complete audit of the Secretary of State's Office.
Diebold takes issue with the study's findings.
``The conclusion of the reports were an error,'' Diebold spokesman Mark Radke said. ``Basically, it was a flawed audit.''
The election institute could not be reached for comment.
According to the 234-page study, one in six electronic voter tallies did not match the election's paper trail.
The report blames the problems on poll workers and machine errors.
``Here we go again,'' said state Rep. Dan Stewart, D-Columbus, who serves on the House Elections and Ethics Committee. ``I think one of the safest ways for folks to vote this year is going to be vote early and vote absentee, where you have a definite verified paper trail.''
James Lee, spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, said the apparent problems in Cuyahoga County are an anomaly. He said Stark County had five recounts using the same technology and didn't have any problems.
In fact, 49 of Ohio's 88 counties used Diebold machines and only Democratic-stronghold Cuyahoga County reported malfunctions, Lee said.
Brunner acknowledged more training was needed in Cuyahoga County.
``In the end, human error will trump technology,'' Brunner said, adding that it appears to be a machine problem when tallied votes don't add up to the recorded votes.
``This is like having a calculator that when you put in all the numbers, it doesn't add up correctly,'' she said.
After a ballot is cast, it is stored on a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail cartridge.
The study found 1.4 percent of the cartridges were missing ballots.
Because there is missing data, the study was ``unable to give a definitive opinion on the accuracy of the Diebold'' machines, according to the ESI study.
Brunner said that Blackwell, the state's chief elections officer who is running for governor, isn't investigating the matter fast enough and to the fullest extent.
``What I don't want to do in this process is increase fear; what I want to do is improve the process,'' she said.
Brunner and others believe a critical look at the source code, which are the instructions for how the electronic machines operate, would show whether there was an error.
Weaver said this is a protected trade secret.
Cuyahoga County hired Election Science Institute to study the May primary election. Unofficial tallies there were not concluded until five days after the balloting.
The San Francisco group is made up primarily of college professors from across the country, including three with ties to Ohio State University.
