Submission + - CA SoS: Electronic Voting Inherently Insecure
kwietman writes: Echoing the concerns of privacy and security experts across the nation, California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen has reported that electronic voting, which is common in California, is rife with security concerns. The report (http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vsr.htm ), conducted by computer scientists at the University of California, evaluates Diebold and other companies in terms of security, accuracy and verifiability. According to a story on Newsweek's web site (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20546322/site/newswee k/), Bowen says, "Things were worse than I thought. There were far too many ways that people with ill intentions could compromise the voting systems without detection." Bowen took the radical step of decertifying voting machines, allowing some to be used only with "hardening" of security. Manufacturers of voting machines, of course, are claiming that the tests do not reflect "real-world conditions." Will this study spark similar looks at electronic voting in other states, as election officials become more enamored of technology?
