Reply #12: E-mails I sent to my state rep & senator (MN): [View All]

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I have been following the security issues associated with touch screen voting in other areas of the U.S. (see http://www.blackboxvoting.com and http://www.blackboxvoting.org), but assumed that our elections in Minnesota were secure with the optical scan devices. However, a recent press release has me concerned. Internal memos from Diebold were leaked to the press, and one of the machines used in Minnesota is mentioned (July 6, 1999 e-mail from Ken Clark, principal engineer for Diebold Election Systems posted at http://www.blackboxvoting.org/diebold-memos-1.htm)

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That is why the AccuVote displayes the silly ***System Test Passed*** message on boot up instead of "memory test passed", which is all it actually tests.

No argument from me that it is pointless. You could probably get away with a batch file that prints "system test passed" for all I know. We will do something along those lines with the new unit after a memory test or whatever.

Ken
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According to the Minnesota Secretary of State's web site (http://www.sos.state.mn.us/election/votesys.html) the Diebold AccuVote ES-2000 is one of the voting machines used in Minnesota.

I am concerned because it appears Diebold has a very cavalier attitude regarding accuracy and security, and actually promotes deception to get around certification requirements.

How do we find out if our votes are really being counted accurately? Thank you for your time.