Secretary of state's act worrisome for election

last updated: September 05, 2007 08:55:22 AM

Fearing that a few dedicated computer hackers could rig local elections, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has put the state's election process in jeopardy.

Last week, Bowen decertified voting machines used by 5million voters in 20counties. But she didn't provide any plausible alternatives, which likely means the next statewide election in February could be plagued by problems and, yes, even allegations of voter fraud.

Stanislaus County voters can relax. Four years ago, Registrar of Voters Lee Lundrigan upgraded the county's system to ensure a secret ballot and meet requirements under the federal Help Americans Vote Act. While the machines haven't sped up counting, they do meet federal and state requirements for security.

Not so in San Joaquin and Merced counties, which both have decertified systems. San Joaquin spent $5.7million on the now-decertified Diebold TXs touch-screen system in 2004.

Many people are leery of computer voting. Knowing how easy it is to manipulate computer counts and how hard it is to track that manipulation, skeptics have demanded a tamper-proof system. Bowen campaigned on a promise to make voting more secure.

In May, she recruited some dedicated hackers to test several computer-based systems. Then she gave them cheat sheets and removed all normal election day security measures -- including the presence of poll workers who might stop someone from prying open a computer. Naturally, the hackers corrupted the systems.

So, at the last possible moment, Bowen decertified them.

Most November elections are local, for school and water board seats. It's unclear whether counties will be allowed to use decertified systems in those elections.

The real test comes Feb. 5, when possibly half the electorate will vote in the presidential primary. Any new systems and-or security measures must be acquired, tested, installed and workers trained to use them -- all in six months.

We must have fair and honest elections. But throwing the system into chaos is no way to guarantee that. Some counties will be forced to return to paper ballots read by automated counters -- which also can be manipulated. There is greater opportunity for fraud with paper ballots being carted from place to place than there is in using a computer system kept under constant watch.

Given the skepticism about touch-screen voting, a top-to-bottom review is a good thing. But it should have been done systematically, comprehensively, cautiously and with the help of county registrars. That's not what happened. The result was a flawed process vulnerable to lawsuits and, worse, election day chaos.

Bowen worked hard to make this poor decision. Now, after creating an uproar in 20 counties, she must work even harder to help establish credible voting systems in time for the presidential primary. If she can't, and California's primary turns into a Florida-style debacle, Bowen will deserve the blame.

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