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Maryland Scraps Diebold Voting System

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the long-overdue dept.

beadfulthings writes "After eight years and some $65 million, the state of Maryland is taking its first steps to return to an accountable, paper-ballot based voting system. Governor Martin O'Malley has announced an initial outlay of $6.5 million towards the $20 million cost of an optical system which will scan and tally the votes while the paper ballots are retained as a backup. The new (or old) system is expected to be in place by 2010 — or four years before the state finishes paying off the bill for the touch-screen system."

6 of 209 comments (clear)

  1. But what I want to know - by Recovering+Hater · · Score: 5, Funny

    -is where the "Suddenoutbreakofcommonsense" tag is?

    --
    My humor is probably your flamebait
    1. Re:But what I want to know - by jrothwell97 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Just 'cause I'm feeling nice, I have tagged it as 'suddenoutbreakofcommonsensejustforyourecoveringhater'. Happy now...?

      --
      Those using pirated Tinysoft signatures(TM) are a real threat to society and should all be thrown in jail.
  2. Diebold = Premier Election Solutions. by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm sure many of us are aware... but let us not forget who Premier Election Solutions, really are. They are Diebold.

    Changing the name was a sneaky move.

  3. Who wrote these contracts? by devjj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the state buys a touch-screen voting system that is later proven (without a doubt) to be flawed in any of a number of ways, all of which contribute directly to an incorrect tally of the vote (the very reason the machines were procured), why does said state still have to pay for that contract? Are states not naturally covered by the same laws we are? Did they not get a warranty? Did no one even stop to fucking ask?

  4. Re:Optical scan ballots by rhizome · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hand counting is not quick, and human error can enter into that. Hand counting with lots of observers can be pretty time consuming in terms of man-hours.

    This brings up one of the consistently-unasked questions in debates over electronic balloting: what's the hurry? I don't mean "It would be nice if we knew sooner," but what is it about an election requires that this stuff be done quickly?

    A second unasked-question would be, "what makes hand-counting errors less desirable than electronic-counting errors?"

    --
    When I was a kid, we only had one Darth.
  5. Heck, Shoup is still in the game today! by Fantastic+Lad · · Score: 5, Informative
    Except Shoup is now calling itself, "Advanced Voting Solutions" (AVS). You've probably heard of them. --The most astonishing part is that Diebold's, Howard Van Pelt and Larry Ensminger left Diebold and were hired by AVS in late 2004. --And not just a small hire either. Van Pelt and Ensminger are now AVS's President and Vice President!

    Here's a little of Shoup's history.

    It's a big, hairball of a mess and none of the right people are in jail.


    -FL