California sues over voting machines

SACRAMENTO -- California’s secretary of state on Monday filed a lawsuit to try to force a voting machine company to pay damages for selling unauthorized systems to five California counties.

A spokeswoman for Secretary of State Debra Bowen said the lawsuit seeks about $15 million from Elections Systems & Software Inc. of Omaha.

Her office contends the company did not get state approval before selling 972 of its AutoMark A200 units to Colusa, Marin, Merced and Solano counties, as well as the city and county of San Francisco.

“ES&S; ignored the law over and over and over again, and it got caught,” Bowen said in a statement. “California law is very clear on this issue. I am not going to stand on the sidelines and watch a voting system vendor come into this state, ignore the laws, and make millions of dollars from California’s taxpayers in the process.”

The lawsuit seeks damages of up to $50,000 per violation plus reimbursement of the amounts paid by the counties.

In a statement, the company said it had followed California’s established practice of relying on the review process of an independent testing lab.

“ES&S; was not required to do more,” the statement said.

It also said the company had been in contact with Bowen’s office and had urged her to deal with election equipment manufacturers fairly.

“Unfortunately, the secretary’s determination and the lawsuit she is filing fails to do this and may adversely affect the use of a widely acclaimed device that has allowed many California voters with disabilities to vote privately and independently for the first time,” the company said.

According to state elections officials, the company manufactured another version of the voting device that was approved. They contend that the five counties named in the suit believed they were buying the approved model, not the altered model they ultimately received. Nearly 600 of those uncertified machines were sold to San Francisco County.

“It is not for a vendor, a voting system manufacturer, to decide what is or isn’t a big change in its machine,” said Nicole Winger, a spokeswoman for Bowen. “Under California law, the only person who can do that is the secretary of state.”