http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2003/12/25statesrethinkvo.htmlStates rethink voting systemsFrom the article:
Diebold machines, and other newer models in other states, employ operating systems akin to those that run personal computers. Security experts found that code in those machines could be rewritten to disrupt elections or alter the results.
Some of the affected machines are connected to modems and telephone lines, opening an avenue for hackers. The codes that run some of the machines have been widely circulated on the Internet, giving hackers opportunity to rewrite them.
The Diebold machines also use electronic "smart cards" that are issued to voters, who place them in the voting machine to cast their votes. But blank smart cards are available from computer supply companies, and an enterprising hacker could program one to record multiple votes for chosen candidates.
Bev Harris of Renton, Wash., author of "Black Box Voting: Ballot-Tampering in the 21st Century," said it was difficult to rig large numbers of mechanical voting machines, but electronic machines are different.
"It doesn't take very many people. It takes just one to slide in a replacement program," Harris said.
Harris said assurances that multiple memory tables and backup paper tapes will ensure accurate election counts miss the real point: There is no way for the voter to verify that the machine has recorded his ballot correctly. The machines do not print a receipt showing each vote.
Critics suggest electronic machines need to print out a receipt of each vote. The receipt then could be dropped into a ballot box to serve as a backup, and allow for an audit.
BTW, Delaware has Danaher Voting Machines which were purchased in 1998. Seems our state plans on sticking with those for awhile.
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