"Government has no more fundamental obligation than to ensure the integrity of the democratic election process," said Gov. Ehrlich. "In an effort to strengthen public confidence in Maryland's election process, I have ordered a thorough, fully-independent review of the Diebold system by a third party leader in information security. I believe this is an appropriate step toward ensuring the voter's fundamental right to an accessible, accurate and accountable election process."
The review will include a test bed using the relevant Diebold hardware and software configurations. The test will be built as dictated by State Board of Elections regulations, standards and procedures developed for polling places. SAIC will review guideline and procedural documentation from the State Board and the Local Boards of Election that used the Diebold system in the 2002 election and conduct interviews with election directors, local IT offices and election judge poll workers. Once adapted to a simulated Maryland election environment, SAIC will evaluate the claims of voting security and integrity vulnerabilities. SAIC's report will be in the form of a risk assessment that addresses identified risks and the State Board of Elections mitigation process.
"I welcome Gov. Ehrlich's decision to order an independent review of Diebold's electronic voting system," said Gilles Burger, Chairman of the State Board of Elections. "We at the State Board have confidence in the Diebold system and our tailored implementation methodology. We hold the utmost value in voter integrity and security and take credible claims of vulnerability seriously. We are also a learning organization. We are wholly committed to taking all appropriate steps to safeguard the voters' right to an accurate election process. This review is an important step toward that goal."
