Diebold machine held up by state regulators

Associated Press???? 07 May 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Less than a week before a certification deadline imposed by the secretary of state, Diebold's new touch-screen voting machine still has not been approved by the state.

The Ohio Board of Voting Machine Examiners failed to certify the machine at a meeting on Friday, partially because it has not yet completed the federal certification process. The machine's bar-code reader also was found to be unsatisfactory.

Spokesmen for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and North Canton-based Diebold both say the glitches are technicalities.

But Electronic Systems & Software, which is fighting to extend the May 13 deadline Blackwell set, says the mix-up shows the deadline should be pushed back so it can have its own machines certified in time.

"What it really calls into question is this arbitrary deadline at the end of next week," said Jill Friedman-Wilson, an ES&S spokeswoman. "Why the rush? Why the arbitrary creation of a sense of panic when there's plenty of time to do this and do it right?"

The ES&S case is scheduled for a hearing Tuesday.

An extension wouldn't be unprecedented for Blackwell but no plans have been made to delay it again. He pushed back an earlier April 14 deadline so the Diebold machine could meet all the necessary federal and state requirements. Blackwell said ES&S and another company, Hart Intercivic, were too far behind schedule to meet the requirements.

All the testing and reporting on the Diebold machine are done, said Mark Radke, director of marketing for the company. Now a national review board needs to meet and assign it a number, which is given once all federal requirements are met.

Radke said he expects that will only take two to three days.

The state board will meet next week, said James Lee, a spokesman for Blackwell.