{news} AP story quotes Mike DeRosa on voting machines

[bedell_98]

This AP story ran in the Stamford Advocate, New London Day, and Newsday:

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/hc-31175317.apds.m0956.bc-ct--votioct31,0,6973233.story
Report: voting machines can be compromised, but safeguards in place

Associated Press
October 31, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The new voting machines that will be used in 25
Connecticut cities and towns next week are vulnerable to tampering,
but state officials are taking steps to prevent that, according to a
report released Tuesday by the University of Connecticut.

The optical scan devices, which automatically read paper ballots
filled out by voters, can be compromised in a matter of minutes by
tactics such as neutralizing one candidate so his or her votes aren't
counted or swapping the votes of two candidates, the report said.

"Such tabulation corruptions can lay dormant until the Election Day,
thus avoiding detection through pre-election tests," according to the
report.

But the authors of the report credit the secretary of the state's
office for implementing new security procedures to protect the machines.

A team of UConn professors known as the Voting Technology Research
Center is advising the secretary of the state's office. Alex
Shvartsman, a computer science and engineering professor, who heads up
the group, said the state has implemented strict rules for how the
machines get from the supplier to polling places, tamper-resistant
packaging of the machines and planned postelection audits.

"If nobody touches the devices, if there is an unbroken chain of
custody from the supplier to the polling place, then we're very
confident that nothing can go wrong with them - short of a mechanical
malfunction," Shvartsman said.

The optical scan machines are first being used in 25 towns this
election, replacing the old mechanical lever machines. The rest of the
state will use the new machines next year. Nearly 330,000 voters will
be affected this year.

With the new system, voters fill out a paper ballot similar to a
bubble sheet used for a standardized test and then scan it into a
machine for verification. The technology also provides a paper trail
for every vote cast, which Shvartsman said makes the devices more
reliable than touch screen and other electronic voting machines.

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said the report confirms that
optical scan machines are the most secure form of voting technology.

"When we considered possible new voting technologies, security was
paramount," she said.

But one of her political opponents, Green Party candidate Mike DeRosa,
said the report raises concerns about the manufacturer of the new
machines, Diebold Election Systems of Ohio, whose machines have been
criticized around the country for various malfunctions. He suggested
the state should hire technical experts to service the machines.

"We need to have professionalization of our electoral process in
Connecticut," DeRosa said.

But Bysiewicz has said Massachusetts-based LHS Associates Inc., not
Diebold, designed the machines. Diebold acquired LHS and submitted a
bid to the state to provide its electronic machines and LHS's optical
scan machines, she said. The state rejected the Diebold-designed
machines, Bysiewicz said.

According to the report, the UConn professors determined that a laptop
computer user with a simple computer cable can obtain information from
the memory cards of the optical scan machines. They also determined
there are ways to feed multiple ballots into the machine when an
attendant is not watching.

"Poll workers must not be allowed to take their eyes off the machines,
and should be wary of attempts at distraction," the report reads.

Shvartsman said he believes the local poll workers are ready for the job.

"I've seen some of these silver-haired ladies and they're tough," he
said. "I think we're in good hands."

The new voting machines are helping Connecticut meet the requirements
of a federal law enacted after the chaotic Florida recount in the
presidential election in 2000.