71 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 13 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

EAC scandal grows--Sarasota's "undervote" voting machine model certified by banned lab, Ciber, before untested upgrades

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   1 comment
Message Michael Richardson
Become a Fan
  (2 fans)
Ciber, Inc. is the nation's largest independent testing authority of electronic voting machines certifying machines used by 68.5% of registered voters in 2006. However, last year the Election Assistance Commission secretly pulled Ciber's interim accreditation for failure to perform quality assurance testing and documentation of security testing.

Included in the long list of improperly tested or untested electronic voting machine models were the ES&S machines used in Sarasota, Florida, where a staggering 18,000 votes in a Congressional race were reported as "undervotes". Florida, which does not require federal certification, boasts, "Florida's voting systems standards and certification program are recognized as the most stringent in the nation."

Because Florida has its own certification program and because the Sarasota voting machines had upgrades that apparently lack federal approval, Ciber did not have the last word on the accuracy of the "undervote" machines.

However, in a March 3, 2006 "technical advisory" to county election officials Dawn Roberts, Director of Elections, relied on "Ciber Laboratory's Source Code Review and Functional Testing reports" to warn against "potential system vulnerabilities".

The Division of Elections "ongoing internal examination of security procedures" makes use of the non-accredited Ciber reports to maintain its supposed "stringent" security standards. In a directive that "applies to all voting systems deployed in Florida," Roberts warned of "knowledge based" attacks against electronic memory media by insiders.

Roberts further warned of a "malicious entity" gaining access to the voting machine memory. "This could occur at any time prior to opening the polls and with the election media in any state (i.e. pre-election, set for election, or post-election.)"

Ciber, which lost its interim accreditation over inadequate security testing, had long been identified for its sloppy work before the EAC secretly pulled its permit. Although many election officials, such as Dawn Roberts in Florida, may not have been aware of Ciber's shortcomings because of the EAC secrecy, problems with the Greenwood Village, Colorado, firm were known by the Wisconsin State Board of Elections in 2005 when Ciber failed to produce required reports.

The EAC's oversight of the so-called independent testing authorities, which are funded by the voting machine vendors, has been lax since taking over the responsibilities from the National Association of State Election Directors. The Help America Vote Act, which flooded states with money to buy new electronic voting machines like those in Sarasota, transferred the accreditation to the EAC at a time when the fledgling bureaucracy was ill-equipped for its responsibility.

Now, in light of the secret non-accreditation of Ciber, controversy over the very future of the agency is erupting in the halls of Congress. Chair of the Senate Rules Committee, Senator Diane Feinstein has sent a stern letter to the EAC "about the failure of the Election Assistance Commission to provide timely information to election officials and the public about your Commission's decision to withhold accreditation to Ciber Labs."

Feinstein asked the agency to provide information on its efforts to investigate the lab as well as detailed information on the extent of Ciber's failures. The Senator also called for a detailed list of jurisdictions using voting equipment tested by Ciber. In conclusion, Senator Feinstein warned, "I expect this will be a significant issue in upcoming Rules and Administration Committee oversight hearings about electronic voting and the role of the Election Assistance Commission in helping to ensure that every vote is accurately counted."

[Permission granted to reprint]
Rate It | View Ratings

Michael Richardson Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Michael Richardson is a freelance writer living in Belize. Richardson writes about Taiwan foreign policy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Black Panther Party. Richardson was Ralph Nader's ballot access manager during the 2004 and (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

J. Edgar Hoover personally ordered FBI to initiate COINTELPRO dirty tricks against Black Panthers in 'Omaha Two' case

Angela Davis Demands 'Omaha Two' Be Freed

FBI agents that spied on Martin Luther King also ran COINTELPRO operation against 'Omaha Two'

Did RFK's search for JFK's killers lead to his own murder?

FBI used United Airlines in planned COINTELPRO action against Black Panthers in 'Omaha Two' case

Roger and Julian Lin are at center of Taiwan Civil Government fraud allegations

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend