From The New York Times today:
Flaws in voting machines used by millions of people will not be
fixed in time for the presidential election because of a government
backlog in testing the machines’ hardware and software, officials say.
The flaws, which have cast doubt on the ability of some machines to
provide a consistent and reliable vote count, were supposed to be
addressed by the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency
that oversees voting. But commission officials say they will not be
able to certify that flawed machines are repaired by the November
election, or provide software fixes or upgrades, because of a backlog
at the testing laboratories the commission uses.
“We simply are not going to sacrifice the integrity of the
certification process for expediency,” said Rosemary E. Rodriguez, the
chairwoman of the commission.
As a result, machine manufacturers and state election officials say
states and local jurisdictions are forgoing important software
modifications meant to address security and performance concerns. In
some cases, election officials in need of new equipment have no choice
but to buy machines that lack the current innovations and upgrades.
The federal government does not require that states use machines
that the commission certifies, but most states depend on the commission
to approve new machines and software, and at least 10 states have rules
or laws requiring federal certification.
The article does not entertain the possibility that machines should not be used at all.
