Nation’s First Open Source Election Software Released

A group working to produce an open and transparent voting system to replace current proprietary systems has published its first batches of code for public review.

Judge May Force State To Provide Voting Paper Trail

A Davidson County judge may force the state to buy new voting machines that would provide a paper trail in the event of allegations of voter fraud.

Voter Action Challenges Merger of Election Systems & Software and Diebold

September 29, 2009

Washington, D.C.

Complaint Filed with the US Justice Department Says Merger Violates Federal Anti-Trust Law

Voting systems monopoly "threatens the democratic process itself"

Voter Action, a national non-profit organization working to protect the integrity of US elections, filed a complaint yesterday with the US Justice Department challenging the recently-announced merger of the nation's two largest voting systems companies, Election Systems & Software and Diebold's subsidiary, Premier Election Solutions. The complaint alleges that the merger creates a monopoly power in violation of federal anti-trust laws. The voting rights group delivered its complaint to Assistant Attorney General Christine A. Varney, the chief of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. A copy of Voter Action's letter to the Department of Justice can be found here and a full version of the press release can be found here.

Monopoly on elections? Not so fast.....

Call it a fait accompli that may not be. A federal judge in Camden, NJ., agreed late Friday to hear a request for an emergency injuction that could halt Election Systems & Software's Sept. 2 announced acquisition of Diebold Inc.'s Premier Election Solutions.

Maui Judge Formalizes Ruling that Bans Electronic Voting

A Maui judge has made permanent an oral ruling that bars the state Office of Elections from using electronic voting machines or transmitting election results over the Internet or telephone lines.

Antitrust Concerns Swirl Around Sale of Diebold Voting Machines

Sen. Charles Schumer asked the Justice Department’s antitrust division on Monday to investigate the recent sale of Diebold’s voting machines division to a competitor, saying the deal raises anti-competitiveness concerns and has “adverse implications on how our country votes.”

The Business of Voting Machines

September 9, 2009

The New York Times

Diebold announced last week that it has sold its United States voting machine division to its main rival, Election Systems & Software.

Given Diebold’s troubling record, it is hard to lament its departure from American elections, but this sale could make a bad situation worse. Regulators should take a hard look at the anticompetitive implications. And Congress, the states and cities need to push a lot harder for fundamental reforms in the voting machine business and the way Americans vote. 

Diebold has long been the company that critics of electronic voting love to hate. The company has been accused of illegally installing uncertified software and of making machines that, at least sometimes, drop votes. The company raised serious doubts about its objectivity when Diebold’s then-chief executive wrote a fund-raising letter expressing his dedication to delivering Ohio for President George W. Bush in 2004. Ohio, of course, was one of the states using Diebold voting machines.

The combination of the Election Systems & Software and Diebold American voting machine divisions raises classic antitrust concerns. Election Systems & Software, which has also been criticized for making unreliable machines, would be the nation’s largest voting machine maker by far. And states and cities, which have long complained about the low quality and high cost of the machines, would have less choice or bargaining power.

Read Entire Editorial Here

Diebold's End: Consolidation of Largest Voting Companies Shows Need to Reform Elections

Yesterday the United States' largest voting equipment vendor, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), announced the purchase of Premier Election Solutions, our nation's second largest vendor, and a product of the Diebold Corporation's North American operations.

Diebold Sells U.S. Elections Systems Business to ES&S

Diebold, Incorporated announced today that it has sold its U.S. election systems 
business, primarily consisting of its Allen, Texas-based subsidiary, Premier 
Election Solutions, Inc., to Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), a 
leading company in the election systems industry.  The sale was consummated on 
September 2.