Reply #8: Western Montana officials talk about faulty voting machines [View All]

Western Montana officials talk about faulty voting machines

Posted: Jan 8, 2008 11:42 AM CST

Updated: Jan 8, 2008 11:44 AM CST


Election officials in Montana say that they remain confident that their voting machines are fine, despite an Ohio report saying that similar units have "critical security failures".

Some 44 of the 56 counties in the state use one or more ES&S voting machines and the report says researchers found the M-100 Optical Scanners are "susceptible to attacks" at the polls and that could "affect election integrity." The report goes on to say that other ES&S units have faults and could be tampered with.

Missoula, Flathead and Ravalli counties use those machines, but the elections officials we talked with say the systems are certified by the state according to federal guidelines and the have been reliable during elections.

Flathead County Election Services Manager Monica Eisenzimer says she still has confidence in the machines.

"We're confident that the machines we use are the best there is right now, technology is always going to happen, so maybe there will be something better in the future, but with the right people, there's nothing to worry about."

(Editorial:sarcasm: nothing to worry about just move along...we 'right people' got your votes covered.)