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Diebold Election Services pulled out of the request-for-proposal process claiming that it could not comply with the law passed last August as an attempt to boost voter confidence in the electoral system after a major disruption lost 4,400 ballots in Carteret County in November 2004. The company said it could not move forward into a formal contract without violating state law.
“This definitely throws a wrench into the workings,” said Northampton County Election Director Tonya Pitts. She said it also puts a “pinch” on the state's deadline to have all contracts in order by Jan. 20 so machines could be up and running by the spring primary, currently set for May 2, 2006.
Asked about the next step, Pitts said, “At this point there's only one other vendor certified, so I guess we'll look at E S &S.”
Only last week, the county board of elections decided to contract with Diebold to purchase the company's DRE Assisted Voting machines. The board had planned a Jan. 4 public forum that would allow residents to learn how to use the machines. That forum is canceled.
Northampton County has other problems. The machines it currently utilizes, Diebold Optical Scan Accuvote, are no longer usable, having been decertified by the State Board of Elections on Dec. 1, the same day the board granted certification to both Diebold and ES&S.
Grace Peek, election director for Washington County, is in the very same boat. “Well, right now we don't have any machines,” she said. “If we were to have an election right now we would have to do paper ballots.”
That may be the only solution for the people of Dare County, which, Peek said, has an election scheduled for this February. Election Director Melva Garrison could not be reached for comment.
Also unable to be reached, by the Daily Herald or Peek or Pitts, was a representative from the state board of elections. An administrative assistant who answered the phone at the offices confirmed State Election Director Gary Bartlett would be out of the office until Jan. 3.
The director told an AP reporter, however, “We're just going to go forward.”
Diebold's decision comes only one day after a judge tossed a suit against the state of North Carolina claiming the state ignored its own laws when it certified the two voting equipment vendors.
California-based privacy advocacy group Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF) filed the suit on behalf of North Carolina voting rights advocate Joyce McCloy. “North Carolina law requires the Board of Elections to rigorously review all voting system code "prior to certification,” states an EFF press release on the suit. “Ignoring this requirement, the Board of Elections on December 1st certified voting systems offered by Diebold Election Systems, Sequoia Voting Systems, and Election Systems and Software without having first obtained - let alone reviewed - the system code.” Sequoia withdrew from the bid process last week.
But a judge on Wednesday said the state did comply and dismissed the suit.
McCloy said she still has not decided if she would appeal the decision.
She did say, however, that she was thrilled to hear about Diebold's decision. McCloy, who coordinates a group called North Carolina Coalition for Verified Voting, said Diebold's machines have been consistently problematic. “We dodged a bullet,” she said.
Earlier this year, Diebold had filed suit against the state Board of Election, seeking to gain exemption from criminal prosecution if it could not satisfy the state's stringent regulations under session law 2005-323.
The law requires state officials to review the source code for all machines. It also demands each machine have the ability to produce a paper ballot.
EFF also intervened in the case on behalf of McCloy, filing a brief asking the court to rule that Diebold must comply with state law. The court agreed with EFF and dismissed the suit.
Last week, Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell, who reportedly informed Republicans in a 2004 fund-raising letter that he was “committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year," resigned.
Recently, a number of Diebold investors filed a class action suit against the company claiming it violated a number of security laws and was unable to assure the quality of the machines, a company press release states.
With Diebold and Sequoia out of the picture, the only vendor currently certified to provide voting equipment for the state is E S&S.
According to the AP, E S&S claims it will be able to comply with the state law, and Bartlett believes the vendor has the capability of supplying machines to all 100 counties in the state.
Halifax County's Board of Elections on Tuesday chose to purchase E S&S' optical scan 100 Automark Voter Assist machines.
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