Submission + - State of California sues e-voting vendor (computerworld.com.au)
Gustoman writes: Does relocating two circuit boards, rerouting several internal cables and changing some mounting bracket supports mean an e-voting device must be recertified to meet state e-voting requirements?
California Secretary of State Debra Bowen says yes. E-voting machine vendor Election Systems & Software Inc. (ES&S), which has been sued by Bowen's office over those changes, says no.
In an 18-page lawsuit filed Monday by the California secretary of state's office against Omaha-based ES&S, Bowen, who oversees elections for the state, alleges that the company sold 972 noncertified ballot-marking devices to five counties last year after making internal changes that were not recertified by the state.
The issue arose last July, when Bowen learned that internal modifications had been made to the original AutoMark A100 devices, which were renamed as AutoMark A200 models and sold to the counties without being recertified. Fourteen counties in the state use ES&S devices.
"ES&S ignored the law over and over and over again, and it got caught," Bowen said in a statement (download PDF). "California law is very clear on this issue. I am not going to stand on the sidelines and watch a voting system vendor come into this state, ignore the laws and make millions of dollars from California's taxpayers in the process."
The lawsuit seeks US$9.72 million in penalties for selling the 972 machines, and nearly $5 million to reimburse the counties that bought the non-certified hardware. Colusa County bought 20 machines, Marin County bought 130, Merced County bought 104, San Francisco County bought 558, and Solano County bought 160.
