Voting machine incorrectly counts votes, Oakland Co. clerk says
BY EMILIA ASKARI • GANNETT NEWS SERVICE • November 4, 2008
A brand of voting machine being used in Michigan and throughout the country today has problems counting votes correctly, according to Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson. She alerted federal and state elections officials of the problem in a letter dated Oct. 24, which was released on Monday by the federal Elections Assistance Commission.
In the two-page letter, Johnson, a Republican running for re-election today, said that four communities in Oakland County recently reported problems with M-100 voting tabulators made by a company called Election Systems & Software.
The communities “reported inconsistent vote totals during their logic and accuracy testing with the ES&S machines,” Johnson wrote. “The same ballots, run through the same machines, yielded different results each time.”
Johnson went on to request “a federal directive or law that would allow county clerks, under the supervision of their bipartisan canvass board, to conduct random audits to test machine accuracy using voting tabulators that have had preventive maintenance within the last year.”
In a statement issued to the media today, Johnson said that she has yet to receive a response to her request and stands ready to do hand recounts in close races today.
In her Oct. 24 letter, Johnson wrote that members of her staff met with local clerks and representatives of manufacturer. “ES&S determined that the primary issue was dust and debris buildup on the sensors inside the M-10….This begs the question – on Election Day, will the record number of ballots going through the remaining tabulators leave even more buildup on the sensors, affecting machines that tested just fine initially? Could this additional buildup on voting tabulators that have not had any preventative maintenance skew vote totals?
“My understanding is that the problem could occur and election workers would have no inkling that ballots are being misread.”
Johnson goes on to note that “conflicting vote totals reportedly surfaced in other areas of Michigan.” She added that local clerks across the state are prohibited from cleaning or maintaining their election machines as this would void the machines’ warranties. “ES&S has not performed any preventative maintenance under the state contract, since the machines were delivered three years ago,” Johnson wrote. “I would urge you to investigate whether vote totals could be affected by the failure to provide regular cleaning and preventative maintenance with the ES&S M-100 tabulators.”
She warned that if election officials find a problem with the way the machines are working in the county, local officials would have to spot check or canvass the results. “An extension of canvassing time could be critical,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson’s staff said she would not be answering any questions about the situation or making any comment beyond her three-sentence statement acknowledging that she sent the letter and that she had received no response.
Officials with the Elections Assistance Commission and with the machine manufacturer could not be reached immediately today.
ES&S, based in Omaha, Neb., is “the world’s largest and most experienced” provider of election equipment, according to the company’s Web site. Its machines are used by about 45% of the precincts and registered voters in the nation – or nearly 1,700 jurisdictions in 43 states, the Web site states. The company has more than 170,000 systems installed worldwide.
Source:
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20081104/NEWS01/81104027