OntheWilderSide

Affects All Touchscreen Voting Systems in All States

WASHINGTON, May 9 /U.S. Newswire/ — On Friday, May 5, 2006, Pennsylvania elections officials locked down and sequestered all of their Diebold touchscreen electronic vote machines after a major firmware flaw was revealed which constitues a "major national security risk." www.VelvetRevolution.us (VR) has been reporting for over a year that these machines are a threat to democracy because of major security deficiencies and lack of oversight which allows them to be exploited to easily manipulate votes without a trace.

The latest problem — remarkably a previously undisclosed "feature" implemented by Diebold to make the machines easier to "upgrade" — reveals that the vulnerable firmware cannot be fixed with a simple software patch. Instead, this firmware flaw, which affects all Diebold touchscreen systems in all states, allows election software to be affected election after election even after being "patched."

VelvetRevolution has also learned from an international security expert, now advising VR, that flaws in the Diebold machines are so pervasive that a virus can be inserted through a modified voter "smart-card" which can then infect the computer and be passed on to the central tabulator to directly effect, rig or hack an election. In the view of VR's consultant, there are several foreign governments which are capable of and interested in exploiting these flaws in order to ensure that a particular political party wins any Diebold run election in this country.

Last month, there was national outrage over a deal to have American ports controlled by an Arab country because of the threat to national security. Also, NY Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney called for a Treasury Dept. investigation into possible violations of the CFIUS law after it was revealed that a Venezualan company had purchased Sequoia Voting Systems, one of the largest American voting machine companies.

VR now demands investigations by the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, the FBI and appropriate Congressional committees into the national security threat posed by Diebold electronic voting machines. These machines, which were bought with more than 3.8 billion in Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds — are used by the thousands throughout the country without the requisite security oversight. Any improper manipulation of the machines can determine who is elected in this country.

VR, on behalf of over 130 progressive organizations reaching millions of people, does not want a clandestine foreign agency deciding who is elected US President, Senator, or Congressmember. VR wants secure, transparent and audited elections that are beyond reproach.

Filed under: election, grassroots democracy, Press Release, reform, US Politics Tagged: | UFPJ, Uncategorized