BBV: A way to stop state purchases of Diebold systems

Please note, if your state is considering a purchase of Diebold software in accordance with Help America Vote Act requirements, there may well be a way to stop it. Get a copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) put out by the state for voting equipment. One is published prior to any significant purchase and they are public records. Any library or elected state representative can tell you how to get it. Then read it carefully.

When we did that here in Arizona, we found two very significant things. First: it appears there are no systems available which comply with the requirements in the HAVA Request for Proposal!

The HAVA RFP states that the new equipment and software must comply with HAVA. HAVA requires systems to comply with the Federal Standards in place on Oct. 29, 2002, the date HAVA went into effect. The 2002 Federal Standards were approved on April 30, 2002.

Hence, systems purchased under this RFP must comply with the 2002 standards.

There exists a list of approved systems on the National Association of State Elections Directors (NASED) web site. NASED sets certification standards. Inspection of the list shows they were ALL approved under the old 1990 standards. Unless the web site is wrong, or the Independent Testing Authorities are all working flat out to requalify these systems under the new standards, it seems doubtful there are any systems which can be procured under the HAVA RFP.

Secondly, in our case, the HAVA RFP item 5.4.7.3 (from its section on security ) asks: “Has the system experienced any security-related exposures? If so, describe the exposures and what corrections were made."

This requirement means they MUST notify the state about the Harris Report, the Rubin Report, and the fact that its source code is freely and publically available on the internet. Since the only ways to make "corrections" involve extensive rewriting of major sections of code, any such corrections would necessitate recertification under the new 2002 standards. Thus no purchase of their system is possible without recertification.

We have legislators at work on this. Read your RFP. If it requires adherance to HAVA, any system purchased must meet 2002 standards. Pitch it to you representative as a way to be a hero and keep the state from wasting tens of millions of tax payer dollars.

Hope this is of some help.

Gordon25

How can I find out what machines were purchased here in Louisiana and where they're located? I never got an answer from you on the suggestion that we involve democratic senators and representatives on this. They have to have a lot of inside info on these machines, before purchase and after. Should I be writing Mary Landreiu and John Breaux?

you can probably find out what systems are in use where in LA from the LA Election Director's office which is almost certainly in the LA Secretary of State's office. For your local area, look in the phonebook under county (or parrish? in LA, if I remember my high school civics class right) government and you will find a Director of Elections or something similar. With both state and local officices, you can simply call, or write, and ask what system is being used. This is a matter of public record so there should be no reason for them not to tell you.

As to my senators and representatives, I have contacted them and asked them to support US HR 2239, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003, which, among other things, requires a paper record of votes and calls for mandatory handcounts in a percentage of precincts as a check on the machine counts. It has multiple co-sponsors now. A Google search should yeild a link which will tell you who they are.

Hope this helps.

Gordon25