Published: September 20, 2007 10:09 am            

Attorney General Stumbo Issues Investigative Report on Kentucky’s Electronic Voting Systems

September 19, 2007 — Attorney General Greg Stumbo has presented his investigative report to the State Board of Elections and Secretary of State Trey Grayson calling for improved testing and security upgrades for Kentucky’s electronic voting systems.

The report’s key findings include the following:

* Cooperation between state officials is essential to restore public confidence in voting systems.

* Kentucky’s electronic voting systems suffer from serious security vulnerabilities, according to independent researchers in Florida and California.

* Kentucky’s testing and certification process provides no meaningful security review.

* Jefferson County’s unauthorized use of non-certified voting machines resulted from failed state oversight.

http://tinyurl.com/29kpw6 click here to view the investigative report.

http://tinyurl.com/2qwdg5 click here to view the investigative report appendices.

Stumbo’s report recommends that Kentucky immediately upgrade its electronic voting machines with the latest software patches and security improvements.

“Kentucky voters deserve the same prompt corrective action as voters in California and Florida have received,” Attorney General Stumbo said.  “The security flaws in our voting systems potentially compromise the integrity and secrecy of the ballot.  We must all work together to eliminate this threat.”

The investigative report also sheds new light on why Jefferson County voters used an uncertified voting system in the last three elections.  The report finds that Secretary of State Grayson failed to follow his own procedures to prevent the use of uncertified machines.

The Attorney General’s report comes one day after the State Board of Elections reexamined several voting systems at the Attorney General’s request.  The Attorney General observed the new examination with the aid of an electronic voting system expert who will make further recommendations for improving Kentucky’s voting equipment.  Stumbo told the State Board of Elections that it would have his expert’s report in about ten days.

In a related development, Attorney General Stumbo notified Secretary of State Grayson that yesterday’s attempted reexamination of Jefferson County’s uncertified voting system failed because the wrong machine was submitted for review.  Jefferson County still faces use of an untested voting system due to this failure, according to the letter from the Attorney General.

http://tinyurl.com/223e72 go here to view the letter to Secretary of State Grayson.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.