Record number of electronic ballots to be cast on Super Tuesday

By RACHEL KONRAD
AP Technology Writer

SAN JOSE, Calif.

With a record number of voters casting electronic ballots on Super Tuesday, poll workers from California to Maryland are beefing up security to forestall problems ranging from software glitches to brazen hackers.

In California, the security measures range from random tests of touch-screen machines by independent computer experts to a new recommendation that poll workers prevent voters from carrying cell phones or other wireless devices into voting booths.

At least 10 million people in at least two dozen states are expected to cast primary ballots on machines built by Diebold, Sequoia Voting Systems, Electronic Systems & Software and other vendors.

And the electronic voting trend is accelerating: By November's presidential election, at least 50 million people will vote on touch-screens, compared to 55 million using paper, punch cards or lever machines, according to Washington-based Election Data Services.

Voting registrars say paperless ballots save money and eliminate hanging chad and other problems associated with antiquated systems. It's impossible to accidentally vote twice on a touch-screen, and they can toggle between different languages.

"The modernization of the nation's voting infrastructure is long overdue," said Alfie Charles, spokesman for Oakland-based Sequoia, which builds the machines as many as 4 million registered voters in California and Maryland will use Tuesday.

But computer scientists are protesting the switch. They're concerned that few of the computers provide paper records, making it nearly impossible to have meaningful recounts, or to prove that tampering hasn't occurred.

Politicians and even some secretaries of state acknowledge that the systems could theoretically fail - with catastrophic consequences.

In software and hardware tests, critics have jammed microchip-embedded smart cards into machines to alter and votes - sometimes simply by ripping out wires. They've cracked passwords to gain access to computer servers, and showed that some systems relying on Microsoft Windows lacked up-to-date security patches.

California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley responded last month by issuing security directives for 12 counties using touch-screens Tuesday, which account for about 41 percent of California's registered voters.

He demanded that Diebold Inc., the North Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer of touch-screen systems, provide his office with the "source code" of its elections software.

Diebold promptly complied - and company representatives traveled to California on Monday to help poll workers if they have problems, said spokesman David Bear.

"We worked through all the details of all the things California asked for," Bear said Monday in a phone interview from San Diego. "We're already out here to work with our customers to ensure a safe, secure and accurate election."

Shelley also wants independent, random tests of touch-screen machines. He recommends that poll workers post election results on precinct walls shortly after polls close, then make sure that those totals match with the totals from the county and the state.

Maryland, which spent $55.6 million on 16,000 touch-screen computers earlier this year, is also taking precautions.

Computer experts there told lawmakers in January that the hardware contained "vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious individuals." Among their surprises: all of Maryland's machines had two identical locks, which could be opened by any one of the 32,000 keys.

Linda Lamone, Maryland's elections administrator, said each machine would be covered in security "tamper tape" and include a protective seal. The tape changes from black to red if someone tries to remove it.

"We're good to go," Lamone said. "We have tested this equipment extensively, and there is absolutely no evidence that there's been any tampering."

It's unclear whether new security measures will prove adequate.

On Monday, Georgia Tech student Peter Sahlstrom discovered 10 Diebold computer terminals in the lobby of the school's student center - completely unprotected, awaiting setup by poll workers. The 22-year-old computer engineering student, who is registered to vote in the Atlanta student center, took about 70 photos of the machines in their unlocked plastic cases.

"I saw no reason to think you couldn't just take one away, do what you want to it, and then bring it back," Sahlstrom said in a phone interview. "Frankly, this makes me nervous and ... it validates a lot of the concerns I already had."