In spite of the several diaries this week touting that Maryland is chucking Diebold since the House voted unanimously to go to a VVPAT system (Op-Scan), the bills' fate in the Senate is not looking good at all. From Saturday's
Baltimore Sun:
Three days after House lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to abandon Maryland's electronic-voting system in favor of paper ballots, the manufacturer of the touch-screen machines offered a plan it said would provide the confidence of a paper record at a fraction of the costs required by the proposed legislation.
Diebold Election Systems said it could replace 5 percent of Maryland's electronic voting machines with models attached to a printer. Swapping out about 1,000 of Maryland's voting machines with the printer-equipped version would cost about $5 million, a fraction of the estimated $12 million to $16 million for a one-year lease of a paper-ballot system required by the House bill, company representatives said.
But Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and House lawmakers criticized the Diebold plan, saying it doesn't promise a secure and accurate election.
"The governor does not believe that is even close to a sufficient solution," said Henry Fawell, an Ehrlich spokesman. "The governor believes we need a solution that protects every vote, not 5 percent of the votes."
It's pretty sad when even Bobby Haircut understands that the system is unsecure and that replacing 5% of the machines with paper is laughable at best.
The problem is Paula Hollinger is said to intensely dislike Op-Scan based on a past experience where she saw someone's ballot at the voting booth and could see who the person voted for. The article does not talk about that but it does discuss other reasons why the bill is facing trouble in the Senate:
Supporters of an optical-scan system -- the technology that would be leased under the House plan -- said the Senate's demonstration was an indication that the upper chamber is reluctant to go with the House proposal.
Sen. Paula C. Hollinger, a Baltimore County Democrat, who sponsored a paper-trail bill similar to the one in the House, said yesterday that she was eager to see the Diebold demonstration to understand all the available options.
"We are considering everything," she said.
The Diebold offer is the latest development in an increasingly political battle, which will determine whether voters use pens and sturdy paper or computers this fall to cast their ballots.
Ehrlich entered the dispute three weeks ago when he said he no longer had faith in the State Board of Election's ability to conduct an accurate and tamper-free vote this fall.
Democrats accused him of trying to confuse voters as a political ploy and attacking Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone, whom he has tried to remove.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers have said the paper-trail bill could have a tough time in the Senate because Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller is considered an ally of Lamone's.
So folks...Maryland still has an undetermined fate in it's September primaries and November elections. We have a Governorship, Congressional seats and an all important Senate seat to be decided. Will it be Diebold that decides the fate of these elections?
While many see Diebold as a tool of the Republicans, it is a set of old-time Democrats with ties to administator Linda Lamone that are the problem here. And Ehrlich will certainly use this to paint the picture that all Democrats do not support fair elections based on the actions of just a few Democrats.
I will also note that Paula Hollinger is one of 7 or so Dems running for the MD-03 US Congressional seat. One has to wonder why she would want to leave this election to the Diebold machines.......