- Sep 26, 2000
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http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/508139.html
Did Washington waste millions on faulty voting machines?
WASHINGTON ? Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding that have gone to upgrade the nation's voting machines since 2003 were used to purchase touch-screen systems that many states are now scrapping because of concerns about their security and reliability.
State governments in Alaska, California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Tennessee and New Mexico have decided to replace their touch-screen electronic machines. While some states have completed the switch, others won't finish replacing the machines until 2010. Nationwide, the federal government spent $1.2 billion on new voting machines between 2003 and 2007.
Optical scanning equipment is becoming the preferred replacement because, unlike touch-screens, it preserves each voter's original paper ballot in the event of a recount.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is seeking to recover millions of dollars her state spent on the touch-screen machines and is urging the state legislature to require optical scanners statewide instead.
In a lawsuit, Brunner charged on Aug. 6 that touch-screen machines made by the former Diebold Election Systems and bought by 11 Ohio counties "produce computer stoppages" or delays and are vulnerable to "hacking, tampering and other attacks." In all, 44 Ohio counties spent $83 million in 2006 on Diebold's touch screens.
You know its hard to tell about the Bushies. Are they just so fatally incompetent they can't do anything right? Are they so committed to pouring tens of millions in to their supporters pockets (Diebolds CEO said his number one concern was re-electing Bush in 2004). Or were they incredibly smart?
How does the smart part come about? Think about it. If the machines were used there would be the possiblility of stealing the election. And if the machines weren't used (as is the case) it would be too late to put in a new system and the states would have to go back to the systems they had in place in 2004 which favored the Republicans. And it at least bought the Bushies some good will back when they announced the Help America Vote plan pretending they were really helping. Either way the Bushies won. And Diebold makes a hundred million dollars.
Did Washington waste millions on faulty voting machines?
WASHINGTON ? Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding that have gone to upgrade the nation's voting machines since 2003 were used to purchase touch-screen systems that many states are now scrapping because of concerns about their security and reliability.
State governments in Alaska, California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Tennessee and New Mexico have decided to replace their touch-screen electronic machines. While some states have completed the switch, others won't finish replacing the machines until 2010. Nationwide, the federal government spent $1.2 billion on new voting machines between 2003 and 2007.
Optical scanning equipment is becoming the preferred replacement because, unlike touch-screens, it preserves each voter's original paper ballot in the event of a recount.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is seeking to recover millions of dollars her state spent on the touch-screen machines and is urging the state legislature to require optical scanners statewide instead.
In a lawsuit, Brunner charged on Aug. 6 that touch-screen machines made by the former Diebold Election Systems and bought by 11 Ohio counties "produce computer stoppages" or delays and are vulnerable to "hacking, tampering and other attacks." In all, 44 Ohio counties spent $83 million in 2006 on Diebold's touch screens.
You know its hard to tell about the Bushies. Are they just so fatally incompetent they can't do anything right? Are they so committed to pouring tens of millions in to their supporters pockets (Diebolds CEO said his number one concern was re-electing Bush in 2004). Or were they incredibly smart?
How does the smart part come about? Think about it. If the machines were used there would be the possiblility of stealing the election. And if the machines weren't used (as is the case) it would be too late to put in a new system and the states would have to go back to the systems they had in place in 2004 which favored the Republicans. And it at least bought the Bushies some good will back when they announced the Help America Vote plan pretending they were really helping. Either way the Bushies won. And Diebold makes a hundred million dollars.
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