Maryland Proceeding with Diebold Voting Machines Contract
Announcement Made Today Refutes July Report from Hopkins and Rice Universities' Computer Scientists
September 24, 2003

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mariana V. Nork,
(202) 457-0046
Jim Dickson,
(202) 262-8240

Maryland Proceeding with Diebold Voting Machines Contract Announcement Made Today Refutes July Report from Hopkins and Rice Universities' Computer Scientists

WASHINGTON, DC -The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), through its Disability Vote Project, is delighted that the Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE) announced today that it has recommended implementation of Phase II of its contract with Diebold Election Systems, Inc. proceed as previously scheduled. A three-phase SBE Risk Assessment Report plan will be completed by March 31, 2004.

Following an independent review and security analysis managed by SBE and Maryland's Department of Budget and Management, SBE has deemed the Diebold AccuVote-Touch Screen Voting System acceptable. The announcement was made at a press conference today in Annapolis, Maryland.

This announcement directly refutes a report, "Analysis of an Electronic Voting System," which had been issued in July 2003 by Johns Hopkins University and Rice University computer scientists, claiming that the Diebold voting equipment is vulnerable and susceptible to fraud. As stated in the September 23, 2003 State of Maryland Diebold AccuVote-TS Voting System Security Action Plan, issued by Linda H. Lamone, Administrator of the Maryland SBE, the Diebold AccuVote-TS system selected by the Board is fully and readily capable of meeting the security requirements with minor modifications, and with appropriate administrative and operations controls.

Jim Dickson, AAPD Vice President of Government Affairs and Director of the Disability Vote Project said, in response to the SBE announcement, "We knew all along that the Diebold AccuVote-TS Voting System does not discriminate against people with disabilities or to language minorities and did not have the security flaws as claimed. With the conclusion of the Maryland State Board of Elections' report and subsequent recommendation to proceed, now everyone knows that there is no reason to delay, and we are pleased to be moving forward as planned."

For additional information, please visit the DVP section of the AAPD website.

AAPD, the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, promotes the economic and political empowerment of all 56 million children and adults with disabilities in the U.S. It was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities and be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

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