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http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1071125668144860.xml Vote-counting security tops agenda of election officials Thursday, December 11, 2003 BY KEVIN COUGHLIN GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Vendors, researchers and officials attending a government symposium here spent yesterday sparring over the security of electronic voting machines. But most combatants saw a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. On Tuesday night, the Senate unanimously confirmed President Bush's nominations to a new Election Assistance Commission. Long overdue by law it was supposed to be operating last February the commission is expected to shepherd election reforms outlined in the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The law aims to avert a repeat of problems that plagued the 2000 presidential election. Among the commission's thorniest tasks will be revamping the mostly voluntary standards for certifying electronic voting machines, which increasingly are replacing punch cards and other aging voting systems. Computerized systems cannot be trusted, warned a parade of computer scientists attending a two-day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "Thank God we have these four commissioners approved and can finally get moving. We've waited a long time," said Tom Wilkey of the National Association of State Election Directors, which had been overseeing the standards. One of the new commissioners, former New Jersey Secretary of State DeForest "Buster" Soaries, said the bipartisan nominations could have used a little partisan sparring. "We might have been better off if there had been some controversy, because it would have come to a head sooner," Soaries said in a telephone interview. The nominees were announced in June, and Bush recommended them to the Senate Oct. 3. Soaries said the delays mean it will be hard meeting Help America Vote Act deadlines. "We will not have a lot to say to Congress on Jan. 30," he said of a scheduled progress report. Soaries, a Republican, and Raymundo Martinez III, a Democrat from Texas, were confirmed for four-year terms. Republican Paul DeGregorio of Missouri and Democrat Gracia Hillman of Washington, D.C., will serve two years. The posts pay approximately $134,000 a year, DeGregorio said at the conference. DeGregorio said he hopes the commission can appoint technical experts to review voting machine standards, as mandated under the Help America Vote Act, within 45 to 60 days. But he acknowledged that new standards are unlikely by next fall. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, the nation's official timekeeper, will lead the technical review of Federal Elections Commission voting machine standards from 1990 and 2002, building on suggestions by an engineering society, said institute Director Arden Bement. "Finally, we can knock on their door. Until now, states had no guidance whatsoever," said Ramon de la Cruz, director of the New Jersey Division of Elections. States still are waiting for the Senate to release $1.5 billion earmarked for new machines and other reforms under the Help America Vote Act. New Jersey awaits about $47 million, said de la Cruz. The commission must decide if electronic machines should produce paper printouts, an expensive option to let voters verify their ballots. Another issue is whether to continue exempting commercial "off-the-shelf" software from scrutiny by testing agencies. Officials say the exemptions protect trade secrets. Computer experts argued that vendors should prove their machines are secure. Avi Rubin, a Johns Hopkins researcher who last summer reported flaws in a Diebold voting system, cited problems with electronic voting machines in Virginia and Indiana last month and warned that insiders pose the biggest threat. But Brit Williams of Kennesaw State University said careful storage of machines and other strict controls eliminate most risks. Sifting such claims is "stressful," said Mary Kiffmeyer, head of the National Association of Secretaries of State. She hopes the controversies are sorted out by a 2006 Help America Vote Act deadline. "I will refuse to put anything in my state that will not pass the scrutiny of a recount in a close race," said Kiffmeyer, Minnesota's secretary of state. Staff writer Ted Sherman contributed to this report.
------------------------ Al Kolwicz CAMBER - Citizens for Accurate Mail Ballot Election Results 2867 Tincup Circle Boulder, CO 80305 303-494-1540 www.users.qwest.net/~alkolwicz
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