Rocky Mountain News
URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,drmn_24736_4994042,00.html
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Chris Schneider � News
Shauna Ruda, 18, voting in her first election, casts her ballot in the Aug. 8 primary at the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building downtown. Critics say that voting on computer screens is subject to massive fraud, and the Colorado Democratic Party is advising all Democrats to cast absentee paper ballots in the Nov. 7 election.
Suit: Ban computer voting
Attorney fears fraud, says state 'headed for train wreck' in Nov.
By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
September 15, 2006
Voting on computer screens is so vulnerable to massive fraud that Colorado's November election is "headed for a train wreck," says an attorney who is seeking to have the equipment barred at trial next week.
An expert would need just 2 minutes to reprogram and distort votes on a Diebold, one of four brands of computerized voting systems attacked in the suit, says attorney Paul Hultin. His firm, Wheeler Trigg Kennedy, has taken on the case pro bono for a group of 13 citizens of various political stripes.
And he's not the only one alarmed as details of the case spread this week.
The Colorado Democratic Party on Thursday urged all voters to cast absentee ballots for the November election to avoid potential fraud, after a key state official said in a deposition that he certified the computer voting equipment even though he has no college education in computer science and did little security testing.
But deputy attorney general Maurice Knaizer says Colorado is protected against tampering because state law now requires a printout of each computer ballot. The printout can be reviewed by the voter and is kept at the machine for post-election audits and recounts.
If the electronic and paper tallies don't match, the paper ballot is used, said Knaizer, who is representing Secretary of State Gigi Dennis.
Concerns about the machines raised in the lawsuit prompted calls for reviews from both candidates for secretary of state.
State Sen. Ken Gordon, the Democratic candidate who currently is Democratic majority leader in the state Senate, called on Dennis to "immediately hire competent staff and perform an adequate and thorough testing, as the law requires."
Mike Coffman, currently Republican state treasurer, said his first act if elected would be a full review of all voting systems in Colorado.
URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,drmn_24736_4994042,00.html
Click here to view a larger image.
Chris Schneider � News
Shauna Ruda, 18, voting in her first election, casts her ballot in the Aug. 8 primary at the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building downtown. Critics say that voting on computer screens is subject to massive fraud, and the Colorado Democratic Party is advising all Democrats to cast absentee paper ballots in the Nov. 7 election.
Attorney fears fraud, says state 'headed for train wreck' in Nov.
By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
September 15, 2006
Voting on computer screens is so vulnerable to massive fraud that Colorado's November election is "headed for a train wreck," says an attorney who is seeking to have the equipment barred at trial next week.
An expert would need just 2 minutes to reprogram and distort votes on a Diebold, one of four brands of computerized voting systems attacked in the suit, says attorney Paul Hultin. His firm, Wheeler Trigg Kennedy, has taken on the case pro bono for a group of 13 citizens of various political stripes.
And he's not the only one alarmed as details of the case spread this week.
The Colorado Democratic Party on Thursday urged all voters to cast absentee ballots for the November election to avoid potential fraud, after a key state official said in a deposition that he certified the computer voting equipment even though he has no college education in computer science and did little security testing.
But deputy attorney general Maurice Knaizer says Colorado is protected against tampering because state law now requires a printout of each computer ballot. The printout can be reviewed by the voter and is kept at the machine for post-election audits and recounts.
If the electronic and paper tallies don't match, the paper ballot is used, said Knaizer, who is representing Secretary of State Gigi Dennis.
Concerns about the machines raised in the lawsuit prompted calls for reviews from both candidates for secretary of state.
State Sen. Ken Gordon, the Democratic candidate who currently is Democratic majority leader in the state Senate, called on Dennis to "immediately hire competent staff and perform an adequate and thorough testing, as the law requires."
Mike Coffman, currently Republican state treasurer, said his first act if elected would be a full review of all voting systems in Colorado.
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