California Voting Machines

As most regular readers know, I have long been concerned about the use of touch screen voting machines, particularly Diebold machines, in this country. There is some pretty good evidence that both the 2004 and 2005 elections in Ohio were stolen by rigging these machines to favor the Rethuglicans. Now, it seems that the Rethuglicans are trying to foist Diebold upon Caleeforneeyah without public hearings.

Raw Story reports that the Republican Secretary of State disbanded the Voting System Panel (VSP) in California (which had rejected Diebold machines in the past) just days before public hearings were to be held on a proposal to recertify the machines the VSP had previously de-certified. The Secretary of State said that a tape recorder would be available at the site of the so-called Public Hearing for anyone who wanted to speak, but that officials would not be present. Meanwhile, it looks as though the Secretary of State plans to sneak the Diebold machines back into use without any further evaluation.

Raw Story is not necessarily the most reliable source, but if this is true, it is really troubling. If the Republicans were really serious about Democracy, they would never be doing this. Their very actions suggest that these machines are rigged.