A Quarter of Voters to Use Touchscreen, Oversight Overwhelms U.S. Agency

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0504-02.htm

Published on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 by the Associated Press

E-Voting Oversight Overwhelms U.S. Agency

by Rachel Konrad

SAN JOSE, Calif. - As alarm mounts over the integrity of the ATM-like voting machines 50 million Americans will use in the November election, a new federal agency has begun scrutinizing how to safeguard electronic polling from fraud, hackers and faulty software.

But the tiny U.S. Election Assistance Commission says it is so woefully underfunded that it can't be expected to forestall widespread voting machine problems, which would cast doubt on the election's integrity.

The commission — which on Wednesday conducts the first federal hearing on the security and reliability of electronic voting — laments its predicament in a new report.

"We've found some deeply troubling concerns, and the country wants to know the solution," said DeForest B. Soaries, Jr., a Republican and former New Jersey secretary of state named by President Bush in December to lead the agency.

The Washington, D.C. hearing will focus on the security risks of touchscreen machines, which computer scientists say cannot be trusted because they do not produce paper records, making proper recounts impossible. Despite reassurances from the machines' makers, at least 20 states are considering legislation to require a paper trail.

..more..


As alarm mounts over the integrity of the ATM-like voting machines 50 million Americans will use in the November election, a new federal agency has begun scrutinizing how to safeguard electronic polling from fraud, hackers and faulty software. (AP Graphic

with call and letters!!

http://www.eac.gov/contact_us.asp?format=none


edit to update link to contacts page

no paper, no audit, NO GOOD!!!