Gail Ewing: Accountable voting put on hold 3/12/2010 "How can Florida, North Carolina and so many other states already have op scan, but we can't do it here in Maryland?" ~ Gail Ewing of Potomac is a retired at-large Montgomery CO. Council member.
The answer is - Linda Lamone. Maryland had the money to buy the optical scanners back in 2006. Then Governor Ehrlich allocated $28.5 million for optical-scanners in March 2006. But State Election Chief Linda Lamone spent the money on Diebold electronic poll books instead, causing nothing but problems for judges when the poll books malfunctioned. Lamone was later censured by the next Governor O' Malley for allowing Diebold to use her picture and endorsement in sales literature featuring the poll books.
This post is to provide a timeline on how funds for MD optical scan were diverted, where those funds came from, how those funds were diverted to e-poll books, and reliability of poll books. Item list is expanded lower down the page. Remember that you can create a denial of service to voters if poll books fail, if they operate incorrectly, or if there are not enough of them at polling place. Avi Rubin recommends a paper backup. There are also privacy issues not addressed.
03/25/2006 GOV EHRLICH PROPOSES FUNDS FOR OPTICAL SCAN FROM SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-03-25/news/0603250354_1_supplemental-budget-voting-machines-ehrlich
05/08/2006 NO BID E-POLLBOOK DEAL WITH DIEBOLD
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1271&Itemid=113
06/07/2006 LAMONE PURCHASES E-POLL BOOKS
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jun/07/20060607-104142-6861r/
09/16/2006 LAMONE'S EPOLL BOOK PURCHASE DIVERTED FUNDS FOR OPTICAL SCAN
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1783&Itemid=113
10/15/2006 EPOLL BOOKS FAILED MISERABLY IN SEPT 2006 PRIMARYELECTION
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1886&Itemid=113
11/07/2006 E-POLL BOOKS IMPROVED BUT STILL PROBLEMS IN NOV 7 2006 GEN. ELECTION-BACKUP RECOMMENDED
http://avi-rubin.blogspot.com/2006/11/my-day-at-polls-maryland-general.html
02/25/2007 ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS REPORTED IN MARYLANDS 2006 PRIMARY ELECTION
http://www.saveourvotes.org/reports/PrimaryProblemsReport.pdf
04/10/2007 PAPER BALLOT LAW PASSED IN APRIL 2007
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2369&Itemid=113
02/12/2008 E-POLL BOOKS STILL PROBLEMS-BREAKDOWNS, NOT ENOUGH MACHINES = BOTTLENECK IN 2008 ELECTIONS
http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=7533
11/04/2008 E-POLL BOOKS STILL PROBLEMS-BREAKDOWNS, NOT ENOUGH MACHINES = BOTTLENECK IN 2008 ELECTIONS
http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=8136
03/12/2010 2010 AND STILL NO MONEY IN BUDGET FOR OPTICAL SCAN SYSTEMS
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03122010/policol175947_32553.php
GOV EHRLICH PROPOSES FUNDS FOR OPTICAL SCAN FROM SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET
Added funds for voting machines
March 25, 2006|By JILL ROSEN | JILL ROSEN,SUN REPORTER
Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is proposing to spend an additional $28.5 million on optical-scan voting machines for this year's elections and lesser amounts in new expenditures for local road projects and health care.
The new spending is contained in a $59.5 million supplemental budget the governor released late yesterday, just as the legislative session enters its final two weeks and senators and delegates are already working to mold budget legislation.
"This supplemental budget provides resources to secure Maryland's election system with optical-scan voting machines and also makes critical investments in health care," Ehrlich said in a statement. "I look forward to working with all members of the House and Senate to ensure this budget is adopted."
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-03-25/news/0603250354_1_supplemental-budget-voting-machines-ehrlich
NO BID E-POLLBOOK DEAL WITH DIEBOLD
$13M No Bid E-Pollbook Deal with Diebold Draws Fire
By TrueVoteMD - May 08, 2006
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1271&Itemid=113
LAMONE PURCHASES E-POLL BOOKS
Electronic poll books contract approved (total $19.4 M)
June 7, 2006. ANNAPOLIS (AP) -- The state Board of Public Works, with reluctant support from Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., approved a $2.4 million contract yesterday to buy computer poll books that will be used at early voting sites for the September primary.
...The state will need 5,500 machines at an estimated $16 million to $17 million to cover all polling places on Election Day, Mr. Goldstein said.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jun/07/20060607-104142-6861r/
LAMONE'S EPOLL BOOK PURCHASED DIVERTED FUNDS FOR OPTICAL SCAN
Maryland: Report from Prince George County
by A.C. Tanner - September 16, 2006
The electronic poll book usage seems to have been a true fiasco, and the blame for that lies squarely on the State BOE and its director, Linda Lamone, who spent the money that the Governor allocated for optical scan machines on these poll books, which caused nothing but problems for judges.
Then Governor Ehrlich allocated $28.5 million for optical-scanners in March 2006.
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1783&Itemid=113
EPOLL BOOKS FAILED MISERABLY IN SEPT 2006 PRIMARYELECTION
Maryland: Diebold E-Poll Book Modifications Come Into Question
By John Gideon, VotersUnite.org
October 15, 2006
Diebold's new ExpressPoll 2000/4000 electronic poll book failed miserably in the September Maryland primary election
... According to the Associated Press a software patch produced by Diebold fixed one problem that plagued the equipment in Maryland's primary. Another problem, reported by the Baltimore Sun (article in archives) required a software patch that was produced by a Diebold sub-contractor, Advantech Co., Ltd., who was responsible for the e-poll books "losing synch".
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1886&Itemid=113
ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS REPORTED IN MARYLANDS 2006 PRIMARY ELECTION
Feb 25, 2007
Electronic pollbook problems
• Some voters were incorrectly marked as “already voted” in the electronic
pollbook records.
• In many precincts, e-pollbook totals did not match the number of ballots cast in
the polling place that day.
• Party registration was sometimes listed incorrectly, forcing long-time party
members who were listed as “unaffiliated” to vote on provisional ballots.
• Ongoing problems with synchronization caused the records of various pollbooks
in the same polling place to be mismatched with those of the other pollbooks in
that polling place.
• Pollbooks sometimes crashed during the encoding of Voter Access Cards, and
then marked the voter as “already voted” upon restart.
• Scarcity of pollbook printers in counties that used them caused long waits to
check in at some polling places.
http://www.saveourvotes.org/reports/PrimaryProblemsReport.pdf
E-POLL BOOKS IMPROVED BUT STILL PROBLEMS IN NOV 7 2006 GEN. ELECTION-BACKUP RECOMMENDED
1) My Day at the Polls - Maryland General Election 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006 Avi Rubin.
...I was impressed with the performance of the e-poll books that failed so miserably in our primary.
...
I still feel that I would prefer a paper card check in system because of fear of how stuck we would be if the power went out, or if the machines failed in an unexpected way. But, with a simple augmentation to our procedures, I would be happy to use these poll books. The modification I would make would be for the check in judges to also have a printed booklet of all the registered voters, sorted in alphabetical order. It would only have to have names, and say, birth dates (to make duplicates unlikely). The judges would have to place a check mark next to each voter's name as they voted. Thus, if the e-poll books worked fine, the burden would be rather small.
...
(The privacy issues about whether it is a good idea to have so many electronic copies of this database out there is another story...)
http://avi-rubin.blogspot.com/2006/11/my-day-at-polls-maryland-general.html
2) Local Polling Places Report Some Problems
Nov 7 2006 - WTOP BALTIMORE (8:40 a.m.) - Baltimore County Election Director Jackie McDaniel tells WBAL Radio that some precincts have reported not receiving equipment and a few are reporting that their electronic voter check-in books are not working properly and voters have had to use provisional ballots.
http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=6735
PAPER BALLOT LAW PASSED IN APRIL 2007
Maryland Passes Paper Ballot Bill: 'A Victory for Democracy'
By TrueVoteMD
April 10, 2007
In the closing hours of the 2007 legislative session, a four year effort to require paper ballots for Maryland's voting system passed the House and the Senate unanimously. The bill, SB 392/HB18, requires a voter-verified paper trail to be implemented in 2010
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2369&Itemid=113
E-POLL BOOKS STILL PROBLEMS-BREAKDOWNS, NOT ENOUGH MACHINES = BOTTLENECK IN 2008 ELECTIONS
1) Election workers prepare for long day as polls open (Anne Arundel County, MD)
February 12, 2008 By E.B. FURGURSON III The Capital
...despite voting machine and polling book snafus that caused some delay when the doors opened
http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=7533
2) Mechanical problems cause voting delays in Suburban Maryland
Daily Record. November 4, 2008. by STEVE LASH
Prince George County. At Takoma Park Middle School, where the electronic poll book broke down at 8 a.m., the precinct’s chief Democratic election judge Marlon Sellow tried repeatedly to get a replacement from the Montgomery County Board of Elections. To calm the concerns of the voters, whose patience he praised, Sellow said he told them the precinct was not provided enough electronic poll books to accommodate the large turnout. This incomplete truth — after all, the problem was not quantity but quality — helped to maintain the voters’ faith in the system, Sellow said.
http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=8136
E-POLL BOOKS STILL PROBLEMS-BREAKDOWNS, NOT ENOUGH MACHINES = BOTTLENECK IN 2008 ELECTIONS
1) Election workers prepare for long day as polls open (Anne Arundel County, MD)
February 12, 2008 By E.B. FURGURSON III The Capital
...despite voting machine and polling book snafus that caused some delay when the doors opened
http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=7533
2) Mechanical problems cause voting delays in Suburban Maryland
Daily Record. November 4, 2008. by STEVE LASH
Prince George County. At Takoma Park Middle School, where the electronic poll book broke down at 8 a.m., the precinct’s chief Democratic election judge Marlon Sellow tried repeatedly to get a replacement from the Montgomery County Board of Elections. To calm the concerns of the voters, whose patience he praised, Sellow said he told them the precinct was not provided enough electronic poll books to accommodate the large turnout. This incomplete truth — after all, the problem was not quantity but quality — helped to maintain the voters’ faith in the system, Sellow said.
http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=8136
2010 AND STILL NO MONEY IN BUDGET FOR OPTICAL SCAN SYSTEMS
Gail Ewing: Accountable voting put on hold
March 12, 2010 ...Gov. O'Malley took op scan out of the FY2011 budget. Joseph Bryce, chief legislative officer for the governor, says the problem was "purely fiscal." The governor has done what it took to try to make op scan happen, but the money just wasn't there.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03122010/policol175947_32553.php
