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Democracy at Risk: California Secretary of State Debra Bowen's report Top To Bottom Review finds that electronic voting machines supplied by several vendors are subject to hacking and inaccuracies.
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In the July 27, 2007 Top To Bottom Review, a study initiated by California Secretary of State
Debra Bowen, it is more clear than ever that electronic voting machines from Diebold Elections Systems, Inc.,
Hart Intercivic and Sequoia Voting Systems, at least, are susceptible to attacks that render the results inaccurate.
One vendor, Election Systems & Software, Inc., has even refused to supply the source code
required by the California Secretary of State risking de-certification.
"SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Debra Bowen has taken the unprecedented step of
pursuing access to a voting system vendor's source code located in escrow after the vendor -
Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S) - refused to provide it to the Secretary of State's
office as part of the top-to-bottom review of California's voting systems.
"I'm not going to stand by and watch ES&S ignore the State of California and, in particular, the
voters of Los Angeles County by refusing to abide by the certification conditions that were
imposed when ES&S's InkaVote Plus Voting System was certified last year," said Bowen."
Click here for the complete June 21, 2007 press release."
From the July 27, 2007 Overview (the full report is available below):
"The red teams demonstrated that the security mechanisms provided for all systems
analyzed were inadequate to ensure accuracy and integrity of the election results and of
the systems that provide those results.
Electronic voting systems are critical to the successful conduct of elections in those
jurisdictions where they are used. Given the importance of voting and elections in the
governing of the State of California, one may safely say that these systems are "mission
critical". Such systems need to be of the highest assurance in order to ensure they
perform as required. Techniques for developing such systems are well known but, sadly,
not widely used. Vendors would do well to adopt them for electronic voting systems."
Since things on the internet tend to get moved around and become difficult or impossible
to locate over time, we have archived the relevant documents below. You should always check
the original source as well:
Secretary of State Debra Bowen began her top-to-bottom review of the voting machines certified for use in California on May 31, 2007. The review is designed to restore the public's confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and is designed to ensure that California voters are being asked to cast their ballots on machines that are secure, accurate, reliable, and accessible.
UC Final Reports
The University of California has submitted the reports on the findings from the top-to-bottom review. The red team reports are separated by voting system. The accessibility report contains findings on all of the voting systems that were reviewed. The document review teams and source code review teams submitted their reports on schedule. Their reports will be posted as soon as the Secretary of State ensures the reports do not inadvertently disclose security-sensitive information.
The Secretary of State's office will conduct a public hearing on July 30, 2007 beginning at 10:00 am in the Auditorium of the Secretary of State building at 1500 11th Street in Sacramento.
Following are a number of documents related to the review, including a "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) document to help people understand how the review will work. The FAQ document will expand over time to address additional questions. If you have questions or would like to see more information added to the FAQ, please send an e-mail to votingsystems@sos.ca.gov.
Following are the resumes, biographies or curriculum vitae for the Top-To-Bottom Review test teams.
Document Review Team Members
The document reviewers are responsible for providing an analysis of security, accessibility, usability, reliability, accuracy and protection of ballot secrecy based on relevant documentation. The reviewers will have access to documents such as reports from Independent Testing Authorities (ITAs), reports and data from state certification testing, and documentation related to how the systems are designed to be used in an actual election. The document review members will be split into three teams of two to three members to review each voting system subject to the top-to-bottom review.
Source code is the computer language that effectively controls how electronic voting systems will operate. The source code reviewers will be split into three teams of six to seven members to review each voting system subject to the top-to-bottom review. For a more detailed description of source code review, click here.
Red team members are responsible for testing the functions and performance of the voting systems to identify and document any vulnerabilities that may be discovered. The red team members will be split into three teams to review each voting system subject to the top-to-bottom review. For a more detailed description of red team testing in general and the preliminary protocols that will be used in the red team testing that will be conducted as part of the top-to-bottom review, click here.
The accessibility reviewers will examine the accessibility features of systems subject to the Top-to-Bottom Review for voters with disabilities and voters with alternative language requirements.
