Diebold, Sequoia, ES&S under investigation

[pattylou]

Good news.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has opened an investigation into Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia for possible antitrust violations. This is welcome news to Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho.

Ion Sancho has come under fire for requesting an independent evaluation of his Diebold voting system security. Significant flaws were discovered that led to security alerts nationwide, including a study in California and a security alert in Florida.

The only three vendors authorized to do business in Florida then refused to sell to Leon County. The state of Florida, instead of looking into collusion among vendors, decided to threaten Sancho with removal from office for failing to buy a HAVA-compliant system. Florida’s independent-minded state attorney general doesn’t see eye to eye with Gov. Bush and his appointee, Secretary of State Sue Cobb, and has decided to launch a formal investigation into Diebold, Sequoia, and Election Systems & Software (ES&S).

Identical documents have been served on all three voting system vendors:

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-6NCL8G/$file/Diebold_subpoena.pdf

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-6NCL9U/$file/Election_Systems_sub poena.pdf

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-6NCLAG/$file/Sequoia_subpoena.pdf

NOTE: when we refer to page numbers, we’re talking about the numbers within the Adobe Acrobat file readable on your computer screen. The page numbers in the file as you’d see if it is printed don't include numbers for the first two pages.

The headline alone is explosive:

ANTITRUST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND

The real fireworks are towards the bottom of page one:

“Your attention is directed to Sections 542.28(14) and 837.02, Florida Statutes, printed on the reverse side of this document.”

The first statute is Florida’s criminal law setting felony penalties for specific acts:

“Alter, destroy, conceal, or remove any record, document, or thing with the purpose of impairing its verity or availability in such proceeding or investigation; or
2. Make, present, or use any record, document, or thing, knowing it to be false.”

The second covers felony false statements in these matters.

This all adds up to “we’re not kidding around”.

Article continues (and permission to reprint was granted at the link):

http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/1954/19776.html

This is basically (part of) the next installment in the ongoing investigation into Diebold (etc) electronic vote machines. It constitutes good news, because the trend has been towards more and more serious scrutiny of these machines, with several states rejecting Diebold outright due to their shortcomings.

The entire topic is too huge to cover in one post. Example: any given machine vendor will have multiple products on the market, and multiple versions of each model. When a problem is documented in one, the vendor typically provides another. This becomes sort of a shell game - where the real solution should be to pull all of the machines, do a thorough investigation on every version of every model, etc.

Still, today's report is a bit of the ongoing picture. The attorney general in Florida, has subpoenaed the three major vendors, as a result of BBV and Harri Hursti's hack last fall. This is good.

(If the vendors stay true to form, they'll do something like sue Florida under the premise that the subpoena erodes their credibility with other state election officials.)

 

[Gokul43201]

This is slightly related :

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14256784.htm

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell revealed Monday he accidentally invested in shares of voting-machine manufacturer Diebold Inc. last year, a period when he was sued by other manufacturers over contracts that Diebold was up for.

Blackwell is well-known among Ohioans, but for outsiders, you might have heard him referred to as the Katherine Harris of Ohio.

 

[Architeuthis Dux]

I am pleased to see that the investigation into Diebold, Sequoia, and ES&S has been initiated by Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist. The fact that Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho has been under fire for requesting an independent evaluation of the Diebold voting system security is concerning and raises questions about the integrity of the system. It is encouraging to see that significant flaws were discovered during the evaluation, leading to security alerts nationwide. This highlights the importance of regularly evaluating and testing voting systems to ensure their reliability and security.

Furthermore, the fact that the three vendors authorized to do business in Florida refused to sell to Leon County after the flaws were discovered is alarming and raises concerns about possible collusion among vendors. It is reassuring to see that Attorney General Crist has decided to launch a formal investigation into these vendors. The inclusion of criminal statutes in the subpoena is a clear indication that the investigation is serious and that there may be consequences for any wrongdoing.

I believe that it is crucial to have transparency and accountability in our election systems. The ongoing scrutiny and investigation into electronic voting machines is necessary to ensure the integrity of our democratic process. I hope that this investigation will lead to improvements in the voting system and ultimately increase public trust in the election process.

 

[Architeuthis Dux]

But Florida's AG has gone a step beyond just looking into the security issues. He is also looking for possible antitrust violations - because Florida has had a law on the books since 2001 that says all elections equipment in Florida must be fully compatible with all other elections equipment in Florida.

This means that (according to the subpoena) if any Florida county wants to use one vendor's equipment, and another county wants to use a different vendor's equipment, the two systems have to be able to talk to one another seamlessly.

This is an important safeguard against any one vendor having a monopoly on the market. It also makes it easier for counties to switch vendors if they are dissatisfied with their current one.

But according to Ion Sancho, the Leon County Supervisor of Elections, this law has not been enforced. He claims that the vendors have colluded to make their systems incompatible with one another, making it difficult for counties to switch vendors.

This is a serious allegation and could have major implications for the electronic voting industry. If the investigation finds evidence of antitrust violations, it could lead to major changes in the way these companies do business and potentially open up the market to more competition.

Overall, this is a positive development in the ongoing investigation of electronic voting machines. It shows that government officials are taking the security and integrity of our elections seriously and are willing to hold vendors accountable for any wrongdoing.