this correction refers to an article that was pulled by the editors of OpEdNews on Jan. 23, after it was posted on Jan 22, because of feedback from other sources who advised us of the problems with the claims of the article.ChoicePoint feels compelled to refute many glaring inaccuracies that were contained in a column by Sharona Merel posted on OpEdNews on January 22 (and since removed), entitled, "FAQ: What's Wrong with Computer Voting Machines?" While ChoicePoint respects Ms. Merel's right to express her concerns about computerized voting, her comments about ChoicePoint were virtually all untrue and we believe anyone who read them should know the facts. For example:
- ChoicePoint is not involved in "data mining." ChoicePoint works closely with government and law enforcement agencies to stop crime and capture criminals, but all data inquiries require an open investigation and our technology cannot be used for "data mining."
- ChoicePoint never has been and never will be involved in the voting process in the United State or any other country ï ¿ ½" nor have we ever had any involvement with "electronic automated elections." The confusion surrounding inaccurate reports about the 2000 Florida elections arises from the fact that ChoicePoint bought Database Technologies (DBT), a company that was under a publicly bid contract to review Florida voter registration rolls from 1998 through 2000. ChoicePoint was not in the voter registration review business before the DBT acquisition and discontinued the product shortly after purchasing DBT. For additional information, view the U.S. Civil Rights Commission report on the 2000 presidential election, (http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/vote2000/report/ch5.htm)..
- ChoicePoint had no involvement in lobbying for or against any provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The company took no position on the bill or subsequent law and remains entirely removed from any aspect of the legislation or any attempts to modify it.
- ChoicePoint discovered a fraudulent data access incident in 2004 and helped law enforcement officials conduct the investigation, which resulted in the conviction of criminals who had posed as a legitimate business to gain access to a narrow band of ChoicePoint data. The incident was not a "massive credit card identity theft, in the millions" as ChoicePoint maintains no credit card transactional data on anyone. And the incident falls well short of "the millions," both in terms of the number of potentially affected individuals or any losses that might have occurred.
- ChoicePoint was awarded a technology contract from the California Attorney General's Office in 2005 (in a competitive bid process with five other companies) to develop a system through which law enforcement investigators share and analyze information. ChoicePoint does not operate or have access to the information contained in the system.
