Cites 'Misleading Assertions' and 'Errors'

July 19, 2004

Maryland: Today, national computer security and elections expert Professor Douglas Jones of the University of Iowa issued a point by point corrective to "Electronic Voting: Myths vs. Facts", a public educational pamphlet recently issued by the Maryland Board of Elections. Professor Jones, whose dual expertise is unique in the nation, has characterized the defensive pamphlet as including "misleading assertions, straw-man arguments and outright errors that it may well do more to fuel public distrust than it does to assure the trustworthiness of the system it defends." (See the entire review at http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/voting/myth-fact-md.html.)

The Election Board published the tract in an attempt to deflect widespread criticism of the statewide Diebold system. http://www.elections.state.md.us/citizens/voting_systems/mythvsfact.pdf. Bob Ferraro, Co-Director of The Campaign for Verifiable Voting or TrueVoteMD.org stated, "It is unfortunate that Ms. Lamone's office is misinforming the public about the real security risks of the Diebold system. In fact, the system has had serious problems here and in other states and instead of handling the problems, Lamone's office is engaged in a PR glossover."

Linda Schade, also Co-Director of The Campaign for Verifiable Voting in Maryland, revealed the organization had been approached by voters who were interested in filing suit against the state for misleading the public. Ms. Schade said they were meeting with legal counsel to determine the viability of such a suit. "We are at a point where we just can't let falsehoods remain unchallenged. Voters know that there were significant problems with the Maryland primary, that the State of Ohio just banned Diebold and that California is considering criminal charges. They wonder, 'Why aren't our officials acting to protect Maryland?"

National electronic voting experts are keeping a close eye on Maryland as one of only two states that implemented the troubled technology statewide. Also, Maryland is one of a few states where elected officials and voters have banded together to sue the state in an attempt to force a paper-based vote in November making recounts and audits possible in the event of system failure or close races.

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