California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has conducted a top to bottom review of electronic voting equipment used in all California counties. Orange County uses the Hart InterCivic voting system. The security review released this week indicates significant vulnerabilities with this system. Tonight Secretary of State Bowen announced that all electronic voting systems in California have been decertified and will need to meet new certification standards to be used in future elections, in particular the Presidential Primary scheduled for February 5, 2008.
The Hart InterCivic system used by Orange County has been decertified and will only be recertified upon the vendor meeting numerous specific requirements. Bowen’s order regarding the Hart InterCivic system is posted on the Secretary of State’s website here. The detailed reports regarding the Source Code review of the Hart InterCivic system are available on the Secretary of State’s website here, and all other reports are available here.
The InkaVote Plus system manufactured by Elections Systems and Software Inc. and used in Los Angeles County, which has a special election to fill the vacancy in the 37th Congresional District on August 21, 2007, has had its certification withdrawn effective immediately.
Brad Friedman is covering this story in greater detail and with far more expertise than I have. You can follow his coverage over at BradBlog.com
Thank goodness. I’m a software engineer, and I know how each it is to make lousy, insecure software. You’ll find that most programmers are against these machines, at least in their current state.