article on Hursti on paper ballots

["Margit Johansson" <margitjo@xxxxxxxxx>]

Expert: Paper ballots are best for Riverside County, CA

12:11 PM PDT on Friday, March 30, 2007

By KIMBERLY TRONE
The Press-Enterprise

An international computer security consultant told Riverside County's
Elections Review Committee today that the most secure system of voting
would be a paper ballot.

"Paper has its own flaws, paper has problems, but we are better
prepared to deal with those problems," said Harri Hursti, who was
featured in the HBO documentary "Hacking Democracy."

Supervisor Jeff Stone has issued a challenge to anyone to try to hack
into the county's electronic voting machines in a limited time. SAVE R
VOTE, a Temecula Valley elections watchdog group, has accepted Stone's
challenge but wants more time than Stone's 15-minute limit.

The group has enlisted Finnish computer security expert Hursti. Two
years ago, Hursti uncovered severe flaws in a different electronic
system used in Leon County, Fla., hacking into it in a test and
changing the results.

About 40 people turned out to the election review committee's meeting
in Palm Desert. The committee was appointed by the Riverside County
Board of Supervisors to review issues related to last November's
elections. The review has focused on problems with the county's
electronic voting machines that led to long lines at the polling sites
and delays in getting results.

The committee is expected to update the board on its progress on April 24.