Voting Machine Maker Warned

State election officials have told one of the country’s largest manufacturers of voting machines to repair its software after problems with vote counts and verification surfaced during California’s special election in November.

In a letter obtained by Associated Press, Assistant Secretary of State for Elections Bradley J. Clark threatened to start the process of decertifying Election Systems & Software machines for use in California if senior executives didn’t address the concerns immediately.

“The California secretary of state is deeply concerned about problems experienced by counties utilizing ES&S; voting equipment and software,” Clark wrote in a letter addressed to company President Aldo Tesi nine days after the Nov. 8 special election.

Software problems included incorrect counting of turnout figures, a malfunction that prevented voters from verifying that their choices were registered accurately, and one machine recording the wrong vote during a test, according to the letter.

Eleven counties used the company’s voting machines during the special election.

Election Systems & Software equipment is used in 45 other states.

The problems in California are similar to ones the company has experienced elsewhere. During a 2004 primary election in Hawaii, glitches with the company’s optical scanners led to a miscount of about 6,000 votes.

It is the second time this week that questions have arisen about electronic voting systems in California.

The secretary of state’s office had warned 17 counties that machines made by Diebold Election Systems must pass more rigorous security tests to be available for use in 2006. At issue is the computer language that secures ballot entries and instructs election officials on how to access and tally the votes.

The state’s letter to Election Systems & Software said it was imperative that company representatives “take corrective action as soon as possible.”

Ken Fields, a spokesman for the Omaha-based company, said officials have since met with the secretary of state’s office.

“We listened carefully to the issues they raised, and we’ve been working to address each of the issues,” he said.

Fields also said some of the problems outlined in the letter were caused by operator error or misunderstandings about how the software was to be used. None of the problems caused incorrect votes to be recorded, Fields said.

Ashley Snee, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, declined to elaborate on the election day mishaps, the problems discussed in the letter or the company’s assertion that state officials are pleased with its proposed solutions.

“We’ve met with them,” she said, “and they have agreed to address our concerns.”