Judge rejects challenge to voting machines
Coalition called for option to use paper ballots, demanded further checks on the technology's security weaknesses
By Stephanie Desmon
Baltimore Sun Staff
Originally published September 1, 2004, 4:59 PM EDT
An Anne Arundel County Circuit judge yesterday rejected a challenge to Maryland's new statewide electronic voting system, saying officials have done enough to "ensure each vote is counted and the security and secrecy of the ballots remain intact." ¶

Allowing those who lack confidence in the machines to cast their votes on paper instead of on the touch screens one of the plaintiffs' top requests would "cause much confusion and is clearly against the public interest," he wrote. ¶

"They have taken all reasonable steps to protect the integrity of the voting process in the State of Maryland," Judge Joseph P. Manck said in his seven-page ruling. ¶

Ryan Phair, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, an odd coalition of voting machine opponents, said the ruling was "not unexpected" and he plans to file an appeal Thursday, as the presidential election is just two months away. ¶

Linda Schade, a Takoma Park activist who helped found a group called TrueVoteMD.org and the lead plaintiff, said she is "disappointed." ¶

"This system is a train wreck," she said yesterday. "I've been on this issue for a year and the testimony [in this case] made me even more concerned than I was before. Without a paper trail, Maryland voters cannot have confidence that the election results are going to be secure." ¶

Schade's attorneys were asking the judge to force election officials to address a list of security problems by November and to allow voters who continue to worry to use old-fashioned paper ballots instead of the new technology. The judge rejected both requests. The attorneys also claimed that state officials acted improperly in buying the machines, purchased last year for more than $55 million from Diebold Election Systems, and failed to heed numerous warnings about their vulnerability to attack. ¶

The machines have been the subject of scathing criticisms of their security by computer experts, even by experts hired by the state. Since there is no paper record of votes cast, questions have also been raised about whether the ballots can be checked if a recount were deemed necessary. ¶

The machines were first used nearly statewide (Baltimore won't have them until 2006) during the March 2 primary. Elections officials said there were few problems, though a few complained that key races were missing from their ballots and of pushing buttons for one candidate only to have the vote appear for another. ¶

"We're grateful that the court has ratified our confidence in the voting system," said Linda H. Lamone, elections administrator for the state. "Now we're able to proceed with everything that we need to get done before" Election Day. ¶