Group that called electronic vote secure got makers' aid [View All]

[Robbien]

By LINDA K. HARRIS

Philadelphia Inquirer


The Election Center, which trains election workers and advises Congress and government agencies on election process issues, has taken donations from manufacturers of electronic voting machines even as it has issued strong statements supporting the security of the machines.

The Houston-based nonprofit organization bills itself as a nonpartisan group representing election officials from throughout the country. Its executive director, R. Doug Lewis, confirmed this week that the center had taken donations from makers of electronic voting machines - Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. of Oakland, Calif., and Electronic Systems & Software Inc. of Omaha, Neb. In addition, donations came from "probably Diebold" Inc. of North Canton, Ohio, Lewis said.

The Sequoia donations came to light on the organization's latest 990 IRS filing, a copy of which was reviewed by The Inquirer. It inadvertently revealed donations of $10,000 per year from 1997 through 2000. The IRS usually removes such names before documents are made public.

Meanwhile, the Sequoia voting machines, which in the Philadelphia region are used in Montgomery, Gloucester and Burlington Counties, will be tested by Montgomery County officials today after two complaints were lodged about the machines in the November elections.

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