Diebold takes its defective toys and goes home

[Kelvin Mace]

(Note to mods: As Diebold is losing ground in multiple states, this has broader discussion value outside "Election Reform")

Mark Binker gives us a summary on his blog of Diebold's temper tantrum.

Voting machine maker Diebold has withdrawn its bid to sell voting machine in North Carolina. This letter from Charles Owen, division counsel for the company, outlines why. This paragraph essentially sums it up:

On December 1, 2005, the SBE publicly announced that every vendor certified faced issues with respect to the escrow of third-party software. At that time, the SBE proposed a solution to the escrow requirements for third-party software. However, after further analysis, we believe the proposed solution is inconsistent with state law. Moreover, the proposed solution fails to address the requirements imposed on vendors to identify all programmers responsible for creating the third party software to be placed in escrow.

The action is hardly a surprise sprung on Deibold on December 1. The law has been in developement since December of last year. The bill went from committee to the NCGA in March. At the time, those escrow requirements were in the bill. They remained in the bill all the way through the process until the bill was passed in August. This means that Diebold had at least three months, but realistically a year to raise these objections, yet failed to.

The real plan (which the SBoE was tacitly complicit in) was to bring up this objection at the last minute and try to get the law scrapped. When that failed they threw a temper tantrum and pulled out. My sources tell me that Diebold tried to persuade ES&S to join them so they could pressure NC to scrap it's law.

Now the SBoE and other other Diebold supporters will try and portray this as a crisis that we, the activists, have caused.

Not buying the BS.

Any problems or expenses that result from this is the sole responsibility of Diebold and its supporters at the SboE who cynically tried to get around the law.

If there was ANY doubt about this, Diebold eliminated it with this email quoted by Binker:

Good afternoon, my name is Chuck Owen, and I am the Division Counsel for Diebold Election Systems, Inc. ("DESI"). Attached to this e-mail you will find a letter in a PDF format for your reference. The substance of the attached letter is to advise you that DESI cannot comply with Session Law 2005-323 as currently drafted, and moving forward to a formal contract would place DESI in a position of violating State law. Therefore, DESI will be unable t o move forward in this procurement process, and we want to advise you of this fact sooner than later. DESI does however want to work with the State Board of Elections for the State of North Carolina in getting the current Session Law revised, so that all vendors will be able to comply with the State Election Law.

There it is in B&W. Diebold will work with the SBoE AGAINST North Carolina voters to destroy the law.

They then conclude on this twisted statement:

Furthermore, DESI desires to continue to provide support to DESI's loyal customers in the State of North Carolina; however, until the Session Law is revised DESI will not be able to provide such support to its customers. The foregoing is more specifically addressed in the attached letter.

Diebold will provide its contractually obligated support to its customers in NC, but it will NOT provide its contractually obligated support to its customers.

Huh?

Neat trick that like Diedbold's software, only works if you suspend the laws of logic.

David Allen
www.blackboxvoting.com
http://blackboxvoting.com/s9/index.php?/archives/57-Diebold-takes-its-defective-toys-and-goes-home.html

[Hugin]

1. Thanks for keeping us updated!

:thumbsup:

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Just keeps on getting more and more interesting!

[Kelvin Mace]

3. The real reason Diebold bailed....

Yesterday was the deadline for signing the affidavit mentioned here:

§ 163‑165.9A. Voting systems: requirements for voting systems vendors; penalties.
...
"(3) The chief executive officer of the vendor shall sign a sworn affidavit that the source code and other material in escrow is the same being used in its voting systems in this State. The chief executive officer shall ensure that the statement is true on a continuing basis.
...
b) Penalties. - Willful violation of any of the duties in subsection (a) of this section is a Class G felony. Substitution of source code into an operating voting system without notification as provided by subdivision (a)(2) of this section is a Class I felony. In addition to any other applicable penalties, violations of this section are subject to a civil penalty to be assessed by the State Board of Elections in its discretion in an amount of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per violation. A civil penalty assessed under this section shall be subject to the provisions of G.S. 163‑278.34(e)."

[hunter]

6. Ha! The law turns a Diebold "feature" into a felony.

At first glance, one thing that bothers me is that $100,000 is petty cash to almost anyone who might seek to benefit from a stolen election. I assume the greater risk to Diebold was the felony status.

[Kelvin Mace]

8. Yeah, that makes the CEO take pause.

[ultraist]

4. K&R

A big THANK YOU to all of our hardworking NC activists.

[DemReadingDU]

5. thanks for your dedication on election reform

recommended!

[Wilms]

7. .