Already in motion, readers!
"California Sues a Voting Machine Maker Over Changes" by REBECCA CATHCART
The California secretary of state, Debra Bowen, filed a lawsuit yesterday against a voting machine manufacturer for the reported sale of uncertified machines to five counties in northern California.
The suit follows an investigation that Ms. Bowen began in July after an employee of the company, Election Systems and Software Inc., mentioned to her that changes had been made to machines bought by the counties. After a similar suit against Diebold Election Systems in 2003, California required that all changes made to voting machines be reported to its secretary of state.
Ms. Bowen: “California law is very clear on this issue. I am not going to stand on the sidelines and watch a voting system vendor come into this state, ignore the laws and make millions of dollars from California’s taxpayers in the process.”
A spokeswoman for Election Systems and Software, in Omaha, did not return a telephone call seeking comment yesterday.
The suit, filed in San Francisco, seeks $9.72 million from the company for the sale of 972 machines with internal hardware changes that were not reported or submitted for re-certification. It also asks for an additional $5 million for each county, Colusa, Marin, Merced, San Francisco and Solano.
Changes to the machines, AutoMARK A200 models, are not apparent in outward appearance or function, county election officials said.
Elaine Ginnold, registrar of voters for Marin County: “You can’t tell by using them. The circuit boards were repositioned.”
AutoMARK machines help voters with disabilities cast ballots without help.
Parts of the machines will be sent to Sacramento for testing over the next 10 days, Ms. Bowen said. If they pass certification, the A200 models will go back to the counties for use in the February election.
The five counties borrowed certified machines from Sacramento and Contra Costa Counties for a state election this month. Ms. Bowen said borrowing was not a viable option for February, when many more Californians will go to the polls."
Rigging elections up nawth, 'eh?
Where all the California lefties are, huh?
Wonder if some of those machines were going to Pelosi's district.
