Vote Machine Manufacturer Sued For Poor Performance But Machines Not Decertified
Earlier in August Brunner sued Premier Election Solutions, once known as Diebold, for manufacturing electronic voting machines that didn't tabulate votes accurately, as reported here. Curiously, even though Brunner has gone out of her way to say these machines are unreliable, she has refused to decertify them, as California SOS Debra Bowen did when she came to the same conclusion when a study she commissioned, as did Brunner, showed them to be so flawed that she didn't want to use them at all. Brunner and Bowen both were recognized for their Profiles in Courage this year, but Bowen had the conviction of her belief while Brunner has not pulled the trigger on touch screen manufacturers as Bowen did.
What will happen in Ohio in November is not known, although everyone from government officials to voters hopes it goes smoothly. But to prevent the sizeable and disturbing flaws that plagued the election of 2004 from occurring again this year, those problems must be understood. But Ohio officials have shown no interest in learning about history so as not to repeat it this fall. If you don't know how the last crew of bank robbers made their heist, how can you expect to stop them from doing it again? Preparing for success means learning from your mistakes. In Ohio, election mistakes have been treated like a crazy aunt - kept in the cellar, out of sight. As one long-time election watcher said of the best way to avoid the kind of investigation that an official office with power and authority to hold people accountable would have to employ to follow through on assuring elections are free, fair, open and honest - pray for a landslide.
John Michael Spinelli is a former Ohio Statehouse government and political reporter and business columnist. He now serves as the OhioNews Bureau Chief for ePluribus Media Journal. Find ONB archives here. Photo credits: (c) 2008 AnHarris, istockphoto
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