Touch-Screen Machines Stir Election Anxiety in Md.

Touch-screen polling machines, which will be used statewide in Maryland when voters go to the polls for the Sept. 12 primary, were intended to calm fears of election flimflam raised in the wake of the infamous 2000 presidential balloting in Florida.

But the new machines themselves have become a politically charged topic in Maryland. Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who agreed to purchase them three years ago, now questions whether they can provide fair and accurate elections, given their vulnerability to computer hackers and their lack of a paper trail to document votes.

"There's a lot to be concerned about here," Ehrlich said recently.

Democrats, in turn, accuse the governor and the Republican Party of trying to dampen voter turnout through scare tactics. "It's highly unfortunate that Bob Ehrlich has chosen to alarm people about the integrity of the voting process," said Del. Peter Franchot (D-Montgomery), a candidate for state comptroller.

Yet Franchot and other Democrats acknowledge their own unease about the equipment.

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who was a co-sponsor of the 2002 federal legislation that required states and counties to upgrade equipment, said he is concerned by reports from computer security experts that the voting machines could be manipulated to skew results.

"This is new technology, and we're going to have to watch it," he said. "We want to make sure this new technology is not used to undermine fairness."

State election officials say that their Diebold Elections Systems voting machines, which are being used in Maryland and 28 other states, are safe. "I think the system is fabulous," said Linda Lamone, administrator for the state Board of Elections. "It's probably the most secure system in the country."

Ehrlich has cast doubt on her assurances, citing warnings from computer scientists and accusing the Democrat-controlled General Assembly of stifling efforts to safeguard the system.

Lamone led Maryland's efforts to purchase the voting machines, making the state one of the first to go electronic in every precinct. The process began before Ehrlich took office, but in 2003 he signed a $55 million contract for additional machines and installation. Within weeks, Johns Hopkins University computer scientist Avi Rubin released a report that described the machines as flawed and easily hacked. He said Maryland officials should "ask for their money back."

Ehrlich commissioned a review by computer security consultants, who identified 328 security weaknesses, 26 of them critical. With the promise that the faults would be fixed, he agreed to honor the contract.

"Because of this report, Maryland voters will have one of the safest election environments in the nation," he declared in October 2003.