Voting Systems Security Concerns Rise to New Level

NEWS CONFERENCE - BREAKING
http://www.blackboxvoting.org

Voting Systems Security Concerns Rise to New Level

Press Conference in Seattle at 2 p.m. Tuesday December 16 - at Seattle Labor Temple - 2800 First Ave. - Seattle

16 DEC 2003, Seattle WA — This is of national interest. A new security concern has surfaced which may eclipse the software holes in the Diebold voting system found by Johns Hopkins and Rice University scientists in July. Bev Harris, author of “Black Box Voting” and Andy Stephenson, democratic candidate for Washington secretary of state, have uncovered new holes in the electoral system in King County and in as many as 14 additional states.

These security breaches affect both the optical scan systems (fill-in-the-dot or draw-the-line) and touch screen voting systems, and may also indicate significant security problems with absentee voting procedures.

At the Tuesday press conference, Harris and Stephenson will distribute a packet of documents to support their allegations. Whereas electronic voting concerns have focused on complex issues like cryptographic security and computer source code, the new security flaws uncovered by Harris and Stephenson are more serious and also easier to explain. Because the subject matter is sensitive, reporters will want copies of the original documents to substantiate the allegations, and these will be released at the news conference.

The news conference will be held in Seattle at 2 p.m. at Seattle Labor Temple - 2800 First Ave. - Seattle

“This information is significant enough to merit a trip to Seattle for members of the press who don’t live here,” says Harris. It affects four counties in Washington State and locations in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Maryland and Virginia.

“What we have are two intertwined security breaches which deserve immediate attention from the U.S. Congress,” says Stephenson. “We need to address procedural safeguards as soon as possible to put a halt to these problems and prevent them from ever happening again.”

A 20-page dossier will provide the specific U.S. locations affected, as well as the details on multiple security breaches which may have compromised the integrity of at least two dozen elections.

ENDS

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