Bowen said federal funds were still available to help counties buy new voting systems. Moreover, she said cost should not be an issue, saying her directive to safeguard the vote was on par with other government agencies acting to protect public health or safety.

"I reject the notion that I should not require significant changes to be made to California's voting systems because the money has been spent (on flawed machines)," she said, adding other government agencies - like NASA or the Food and Drug Administration - don't wait to act on a known threat because of cost.

Bowen announced her decision at the 11th hour - before midnight Friday night - just shy of a 180-day legal deadline for changing procedures in upcoming elections. As reporters waited throughout the day and night, county election officials called some reporters saying they had heard rumors of Bowen's decision. One commented that she would defy Bowen's orders, saying her rural county has never had a problem with electronic voting. Weir, who drove to Sacramento for the Secretary's announcement, said that scenario, if true, could end up in court, although county supervisors would first have to commit to paying the legal costs of challenging the Secretary of State.

"It would not be shocking for us to be sued, so we spent some good lawyer time," Bowen said, in response to that scenario and explaining why her Friday announcement was delayed until minutes before midnight. "My decisions will hold up. They are much more mild than decisions prior secretaries have made."

Bowen's directives are the second time a California Secretary of State has decertified electronic voting machines. In 2004, then-Secretary of State Kevin Shelly barred the use of Diebold touch-screen machines in Alameda and San Diego Counties after the voting systems broke down in the March primary election. Then, the machines did not start up and properly function, forcing voters to use paper ballots or return later in the day to vote.

California's new touch-screen voting machine policy will likely have a national impact. Other states, including Florida, Connecticut and Ohio are undergoing similar reviews of their touch-screen voting systems. Meanwhile, Congress is reviewing its first-ever legislation to regulate electronic voting. The proposed bills in Washington largely echo California's law, which require a paper trail for touch-screen machines and audit standards. Other federal agencies are also reviewing security standards for electronic voting machines.

"I think much of what we have done here will be incorporated into standards that will be adopted at the federal level," Bowen said.

Steven Rosenfeld is a senior fellow at Alternet.org and co-author of What Happened in Ohio: A Documentary Record of Theft and Fraud in the 2004 Election, with Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman (The New Press, 2006).

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