State refuses to approve Diebold voting machines
By Edwin Garcia    San Jose Mercury News   20 December 2005

SACRAMENTO - Suggesting the ``security and integrity'' of electronic voting could be at risk, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson on Tuesday refused to approve the use of thousands of electronic voting machines pending a federal evaluation.

The touch-screen and optical-scan machines, made by Diebold Election Systems and used in 17 counties, including Alameda, were found to have ``unresolved significant security concerns'' with a memory card that stores votes in each machine, McPherson's elections chief, Caren Daniels-Meade, said in a letter to the company's vice president, David Byrd.

At issue is whether the removable cards, which are used to program and configure the machines, will keep data secure.

The Secretary of State's office is asking Diebold to submit the machine's source code for review by the federal Independent Testing Authorities before resubmitting the company's application for certification in California.

Byrd, Diebold's vice president of business operations, is eager to comply.

``Diebold Election Systems is always willing to participate in responsible testing to show that our voting systems are up to the task of giving more Californians an accessible and reliable way to vote,'' Byrd said. ``This has always been our goal: to provide a more accurate, secure and accessible voting process for all Californians.''