Grubulub: dirvish’s Blog

You may have noticed that there was, at most, only one voting machine at your polling place yesterday. This is because California Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified the machines that Butte County just spent loads of money on.

I would like to take this moment to say: I told you so.

Below is the letter I sent to Butte County Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs in February 2004 and her response.

My Email:

I need to know whether electronic voting systems, particularly those made by Diebold (www.diebold.com), will be used at my polling place in upcoming elections. It has come to my attention that Diebold’s systems are severely flawed. They have stability and security issues and do not produce a verifiable paper trail. I am concerned that use of these systems could cause me to be disenfranchised. If these systems are being used at my polling place will there be an alternative voting method I can use, or should I apply for an absentee ballot to avoid the situation?

I have read (http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/7321237.htm) that electronic voting machines will be required to produce a paper receipt by 2006, but I am concerned about the elections taking place in the interim.

I have voted at the church across the street from the City of Chico office in the last two elections.

For additional information about the issues involved with Diebold and electronic voting machines, particularly the lack of a verifiable paper trail see http://wiki.volitant.net/diebold-cd.

Thanks,

Keith Adams

County Clerk-Recorder’s Response:

Mr. Adams,
Butte County has not changed it’s voting system. Be assured that any voting system this department may employ in the future will have security in place and no voter will be disenfranchised, just as we currently make sure that every vote that can legally be counted is counted now. My staff and I take our jobs very seriously.

Candace J. Grubbs
Butte County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar
25 County Center Drive
Oroville, California 95965
530-538-7761