] This Thursday, January 15 the Secretary of State's Voting ] Systems Panel will meet in Sacramento to discuss the ] status of Diebold and its voting systems in California. ] ] {snip} ] ] Back in October 2003, Diebold sought state certification ] of its newest voting machine, the Accuvote-TSx, a lighter ] version of its current model, the Accuvote-TS, used in ] Alameda and Plumas counties. But just before ] certification was taken up by the Secretary of State's ] Voting System Panel (VSP), the Secretary of State's ] office learned that Diebold had installed an uncertified ] version of its software into Alameda's voting system ] prior to California's historic, October 7 recall ] election. ] ] {snip} ] ] Because Diebold's actions in Alameda were a violation of ] state law, the Secretary of State ordered an audit of all ] 17 California counties using Diebold voting equipment, ] which includes touchscreen as well as paper-based optical ] scan systems. Preliminary results of that audit were ] released at the December 15, 2003 VSP meeting. ] ] The audit found that Diebold had installed uncertified ] versions of software or firmware in all 17 counties it ] services in California. In five counties, the audit ] showed that the versions of software Diebold reported to ] auditors that the counties were using were not the same ] versions as the auditors found in use in those counties. ] In three counties, including Los Angeles, which used ] Diebold touchscreens for early absentee voting, the ] software used was not only uncertified by the state but ] was not approved by the federal government, either. I can't say that I'm suprised... --Abaddon |