[WestMALocals] Galvin OK's voter use of Diebold machines (for "testing") in Nov 7 election

[Nat Fortune]

who here wants their vote to be the one that is "tested?" These  
machines are error-prone, unreliable, untrustworthy and demonstrably  
unbelievably easy to hack. See for example <www.blackboxvoting.org>  
Brought to you by the company whose owner famously promised to  
deliver the 2004 Ohio vote to W.

NF

Touch-screen worries
Galvin OKs Diebold voting machines testing during election
by christina wallace / metro boston

<http://boston.metro.us/metro/local/article/Touchscreen_worries/ 
5230.html>

OCT 20, 2006
BOSTON — Secretary of State William Galvin is planning to test touch- 
screen voting machines during next month’s election, using the same  
technology that has resulted in glitches in several state elections  
including Maryland and Florida.
The touch-screen machines produced by Diebold Election Systems will  
be used in select cities and towns on Nov. 7 as part of a plan to put  
in place more user-friendly technology for disabled voters, said  
Brian McNiff, spokesman for Galvin.
In the precincts where the new technology will be tested, voters will  
have the option of whether or not to use the machines.
Touch-screen voting systems produced by Diebold have been met with  
numerous problems elsewhere in the country, most recently in Maryland  
during September’s primary. In the wake of the glitches, the governor  
of Maryland urged voters to use paper ballots in next month’s general  
election instead of the machines, and put in a rush order for 1.6  
million paper ballots to be delivered by Nov. 7.
“The very fact we are bringing in Diebold machines at all, in light  
of all the concerns around the country, is deeply concerning to  
anyone who believes we must safeguard the integrity of our election,”  
said John Bonifaz, voter rights attorney and former candidate for  
Secretary of State, who was defeated by Galvin in the primary election.
According to USA Today, election officials in California and  
Pennsylvania issued warnings to local polling supervisors about  
potential software problems in touch-screen voting machines after a  
test in Utah showed problems in machines made by Diebold.
And according to the Naples News in Florida, the counties that are  
scratching the touch-screen voting machines purchased Diebold  
technology.
A spokeswoman for Diebold did not return a phone call for comment.
McNiff was unsure of the exact model number of the Diebold touch- 
screen machines that would be used in Massachusetts, or if it was the  
same one that has experienced problems elsewhere in the United  
States. He said the machine would also produce a paper ballot so  
there would be a record of the vote.
“They are still being tested here, that is the purpose of the test,”  
McNiff said.
Massachusetts is one of only a couple states that has not complied  
with a federal law calling for all states to have a new voting plan  
by the first federal election in 2006 to meet the needs of disabled  
voters.
That date passed with the primary election in September.
Testing the Diebold touch-screen machine and another technology from  
the company AutoMark is a step to implementing a new voter plan.