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Worries mount about voting machine security

Critic says new software problem is so bad that he won’t detail the vulnerability

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

ANNAPOLIS — A computer scientist at Johns Hopkins University warned Monday that Maryland’s touch-screen voting machines are so vulnerable to hacking that he is holding back some of the details in the name of election security.

Avi Rubin, the Johns Hopkins computer scientist who has been raising security concerns about Maryland’s Diebold elections system since 2003, said a new software vulnerability is more serious than previous threats.

Diebold designed the machines to be easily upgraded, making the software susceptible to tampering, Rubin said.

‘‘I challenge the state board of elections to find a single computer scientist to say that these machines are now safe,” he said Monday. ‘‘This is just more justification to get rid of these machines.”

Ross Goldstein, deputy director of the Maryland State Board of Elections, said Rubin’s ‘‘sky is falling” concerns are being addressed.

Calling the software vulnerability a ‘‘minimal threat,” Goldstein emphasized that there are strict rules about who has access to the voting machines. There are also procedures that govern the removal of ‘‘tamper tape” on the voting machines that allow access to the machine’s memory card and other software, he said.

‘‘We’ve taken steps to address these security issues,” Goldstein said, adding that a security assessment will begin this week.

Vulnerability of the state’s voting machines was a hot topic during this year’s General Assembly session, which ended April 10.

With the support of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), the Democrat-led House of Delegates voted to scrap the Diebold machines in favor of another system, but the bill died in the Senate.

U.S. Senate candidate Kevin B. Zeese, co-founder of TrueVoteMD.org, chastised the legislature for its failure to pass the bill replacing the touch-screen system.

‘‘Maryland did not have to be in this position if the Democratic-controlled Senate of Maryland had allowed a vote on a bill to replace the Diebold paperless system with a system that produces a voter verified paper ballot,” Zeese (I) said in a statement.

BGE rate hike in court

The 72-percent rate hike for Baltimore Gas & Electric customers — already a high-stakes political battle — is now tied up in the courts.

Last week, Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley (D) won the first step in having a court review the increase and whether the state could have negotiated a better deal. That ruling means BGE must stop informing its 1.2 million customers about the Ehrlich plan.

Baltimore city Circuit Judge Albert J. Matricciani Jr. ordered a May 30 hearing on the city’s lawsuit. Published reports say city officials believe that leaves enough time for the Public Service Commission, which oversees utilities, to reconsider the deferral plan before July 1, when the increase is set to go into effect.

Republicans, however, blasted O’Malley’s lawsuit, saying it endangers 6,500 employees at BGE’s parent Constellation Energy Group and $600 million in ratepayer assistance the company has promised.

‘‘Martin O’Malley’s ... lawsuit is nothing more than political grandstanding by a politician who puts himself before Maryland’s ratepayers, economy and working families,” state Republican Party Chairman John M. Kane said. O’Malley is running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

PSC Chairman Kenneth D. Schisler said the city’s lawsuit was about ‘‘petty partisan politics.”

The PSC is asking Maryland’s highest court to reject the city’s move, claiming the customers are the ones being hurt by not having information about the governor’s deferral plan.

‘‘The PSC has repeatedly demonstrated no interest in determining if such a drastic increase is warranted and continues to protect the interests of big business and not the ratepayers,” O’Malley said in a statement.

New MVA administrator

John T. Kuo has been appointed administrator of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.

Kuo, who lives in Potomac, has been a senior manager with the MVA for 11 years.

Since October 2003 he has been chief operating officer overseeing the daily operations of the agency’s 1,700 employees and its 45 branches and testing facilities.

Kuo’s appointment comes as former MVA Administrator David H. Hugel leaves the agency after nearly three years to accept a position as deputy administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

New laws signed

A commission on men’s health will be established and state diesel vehicles will be required to use cleaner fuel under two bills signed into law by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) on Tuesday.

The men’s health bill creates a full commission to study and aid in providing preventative care.

‘‘This unprecedented measure taken by the Maryland General Assembly and Governor Ehrlich will solidify Maryland as a leader in men’s health and help to better the lives of men and their loved ones within the state of Maryland,” said Joseph Arite, director of public policy for Men’s Health Network.

The State Fleet Biodiesel Fuel Usage Act of 2006 requires Maryland Transit Administration buses and other state-owned vehicles to use a 5 percent bio-diesel fuel mixture by July 2007.

Another law requires the Maryland Higher Education Commission to increase awards for Educational Excellence Awards granted to community college students. When fully phased in, the average award would be approximately $1,540 per student.

And local governments have been authorized to grant a tax credit on real property owned by and used as the principal residence of an individual at least 70 years old and on a limited income.