TrueVoteMD has Solution

 
Takoma Park, Maryland.  TrueVoters were somewhat thrilled to read that the State Board of Elections in Maryland had no idea how they were going to continue to afford the costs of our Diebold election systems once federal funding runs out. 
 
In November of 2005 the State Board of Elections released an update to Maryland’s HAVA (Helping America Vote Act) plan which is federal legislation requiring voting system upgrades by January 2006.  In this five page download (http://www.elections.state.md.us/citizens/hava/Revised_State_Plan.pdf), the Board reported:

 
“The State is concerned that the ongoing costs of operating and maintaining the new voting system and statewide voter registration list are considerably higher than the State’s maintenance of effort level …With respect to the voting system, the increased scrutiny about voting system security and the need to upgrade the system to reflect the latest security measures has resulted in costs higher than anticipated in the previous budget in the State Plan. The operation and maintenance of both systems will be the financial burden of the State when HAVA funding is no longer available.”
 
The State Board did not yet comment on the extent to which predictable cost overruns will now have to be dumped on county governments.  County governments are bracing themselves for the recent expiration of Diebold warranties.

TrueVoteMD, a Maryland election integrity group has been raising the alarm about security, reliability and cost problems with the Diebold voting systems purchased since 2003 when national media reports first publicized security concerns.

“Around the country, elections administrators are realizing that these electronic voting systems are fiscal nightmares,” says Linda Schade Executive Director of TrueVoteMD.  “ “Maryland has spent over $100 million so far on Diebold and costs are skyrocketing over SBE estimates.  For $20 million we could throw Diebold away and replace it entirely with precinct-based optical scan systems.  They are accurate, cost effective and have a built-in voter-verified paper ballot.”  Since 2003, 32 states have now put verifiable voting systems in place.  Maryland has yet to do so.