NC Judge Throws Out Diebold E-Voting Case

2 December 2005

EFF Convinces North Carolina Judge To Throw Out Diebold E-Voting Case
E-Voting Company Forced to Comply with Election Transparency Laws
Raleigh, North Carolina - Responding to arguments made by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a North Carolina judge today told Diebold Election Systems that the e-voting company must comply with tough North Carolina election law and dismissed the company's case seeking broad exemptions from the law.
EFF intervened in the case earlier this month, after Diebold obtained a broad temporary restraining order that allowed it to evade key transparency requirements without criminal or civil liability. The law requires escrow of the source code for all voting systems to be certified in the state and identification of programmers. In today's hearing, the judge told Diebold if it wanted to continue in the bidding process for certified election systems in the state, it must follow the law and if it failed to do so, it would face liability.
"The North Carolina legislature showed great leadership and courage in passing one of the most robust voting machine transparency laws in the country," said EFF Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "The court decision reiterates what EFF had been arguing on behalf of our client all along: Diebold is not entitled to special rules."
EFF intervened in the case on behalf of North Carolina voter and election integrity advocate Joyce McCloy, with assistance from Don Beskind and the North Carolina law firm of Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau, P.A. EFF argued that Diebold had failed to show why it was unable to meet election law provisions requiring source code escrow and identification of programmers, and asked the court to force Diebold and every other North Carolina equipment vendor to comply.
Diebold could appeal the ruling, go forward with its bid, or withdraw from the process. However, Diebold told the court that it would likely withdraw the bid if the company did not have liability protection. ADVERTISEMENT

North Carolina experienced one of the most serious malfunctions of e-voting systems in the 2004 presidential election when over 4,500 ballots were lost in a voting system provided by Diebold competitor UniLect Corp. The new transparency and integrity provisions of the North Carolina election law were passed in response to this and other documented malfunctions that have occurred across the country.
The North Carolina Board of Elections is scheduled to announce winning voting equipment vendors on December 1, 2005.
For the brief filed in the case:
http://www.eff.org/Activism/E-voting/20051117_Diebold_v_NC_Motion.pdf
THIS ISSUE Lead NZ News NZ Politics World News Features International News
Sydney: Amnesty Hosts Candles of Hope to SAVE VAN TUONG NGUYEN
Australian Readers, Click Here To Sign Petition

Pressure Mounts For Release Of Transcript Of Bush & Blair Discussing Bombing Al Jazeera - British Prime Minister Tony Blair is coming under opposition pressure to release a memo which reportedly show that he dissuaded President Bush from ordering the bombing the Head Quarters of Al Jazeera TV in Qatar, an ally of the United States. See... Pressure to Release "Bomb Al Jazeera" Transcript
MORE:
Wikinews - Bush-Blair Transcript Details Stopped Wikinews - Bush-Blair Al-Jazeera Bombing Transcript Leak Scoop Backgrounder - Second Gulf War - Targeting of Journalists
Kyoto Goes Active - The United Nations Climate Change Conference today voted to finalize the 'rule book' of the Kyoto Protocol, putting into concrete form the 1997 landmark treaty designed to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that have been determined to cause global warming. "The Kyoto Protocol is now fully operational. This is an historic step," said Canadian Environment Minister Stéphane Dion, President of the 11-day Conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)... See... 'Rule Book' on Reducing Greenhouse Gases Finalised
Scoop Audio: Mind Over Matters - Interview with Professor Mark Crispin Miller author of "Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 [U.S.] Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them)". Interview by Mike McCormick.
Scoop Audio: Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, UN
Scoop Audio: Latest UN News Brief
Marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People - In an address marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for renewed action by Israelis and Palestinians to meet their obligations under the Road Map peace process, which calls for parallel steps by both parties toward a final agreement. "Performance of Road Map obligations is the way to move forward towards the shared goal of a sovereign, contiguous and democratic Palestinian State, living side by side in peace and security with Israel," Mr. Annan said of the plan, which is sponsored by the Quartet consisting of the UN, European Union, United States and Russia. See... Marking Palestinian Solidarity Day
ALSO:European solidarity with the Palestinian people
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:Australia: Anti-terrorism dissenters leave MP in ColdWHO Investigates China's First Human Bird Flu CaseChina Mine Blast Update: 148 Dead, 3 MissingPakistan: Cold Is Now Killing Quake VictimsPresident Putin comments on the Chechnyan election
FULL COVERAGE: PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM REPORTAGE
FULL COVERAGE: Ahmed Zaoui & Refugee Issues
FULL COVERAGE: Reports on the Israel Palestine Crisis
FULL COVERAGE: SIS Maori Party Bugging Controversy
SCOOP SPECIAL REPORT: - American Coup II TRAVEL: Packages & Deals! Target 110 000 Consumers NZ REAL ESTATE Online WIN a $500 Travel Voucher! Calculate Your Networth Quick Retirement Calculator Mortgage Calculator THE WIRES Scoops Parliament Politics World Business Sci-Tech Culture Education Regional Health SEARCH