News

Suit seeks paper receipt for Maryland voters using screens

April 22, 2004

Anne Arundel County, MD--The Campaign for Verifiable Voting is taking the stance that paper records are necessary to guarantee that each vote recorded by the computerized machines is counted accurately. Currently, the Maryland's Diebold machines are not set up to produce an instantaneous paper record, according to a report on BizReport.

Ryan P. Phair, a lawyer representing the group that filed the lawsuit said that voters should get the same kind of receipt they receive at supermarkets and ATMs.  "If the computer crashes, that's it. What do we do, call a do-over?" Phair asked.

 "We do not have a disaster," Phair said. "But what we have to ask ourselves, 'Do we want to wait for a disaster?' "

Linda H. Lamone said paper records are unnecessary because the Diebold system is equipped to preserve votes in its memory. "It's stored in two different locations," Lamone said. "If we have battery failure, it still doesn't lose votes."

Lamone claims that hooking up printers to the Diebolds would be difficult for the agency to complete in time for the November election. She also said, the printers "would be terribly inconvenient to the voters."

Maryland introduced computerized voting this year to comply with a federal law requiring a system that could offer a multiligual option and that could be used by voters who have problems with their eyesight.

Lawmakers became concerned about the system after a state-hired consultant hacked into the machines and demonstrated that the system is vulnerable to tampering. Nonetheless, the consultant, RABA Technologies LLC, told lawmakers that the machines are "worthy of voter trust."

These machines, as it turns out, are vulnerable to human error and fraud," Linda Schade, a co-founder of the advocacy group, said. "We are talking about the system by which we are going to elect the next president of the United States."

Lamone said, the state board took steps to secure the system. For example, she said, tamper-proof tape is now placed over the locks on the voting machines.  "It's going to be next to impossible for anyone to gain access to manipulate the election," she said. "If anyone tries it, we're going to put them in jail."