Honest Voting

A Superior Court judge in Trenton, New Jersey agreed to revise a previous order and ruled on Friday that computer experts may publicize the results of their examination of New Jersey’s Sequoia Voting Systems electronic voting machines. Judge Linda Feinberg’s proposed pact will also allow the public to view and check the veracity of electronic voting machines lacking a receipt or paper trail.

The Coalition for Peace Action and the American Civil Liberties Union had sued the state, arguing that the public should be privy to the results before the presidential election. Judge Feinberg had previously forbidden the experts from releasing the results, saying they would unfairly expose Sequoia’s trade secrets.

The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that the tests, conducted by Princeton University computer experts, will begin on June 30. The final report will be released in late September, roughly one month before the November election.

CourierPostOnline.com reported that Sequoia Vice President Michelle Shafer said “Sequoia has no qualms” with the ruling, except for Feinberg’s stance on “derivative works” — adaptations of an existing product for a different purpose.

“This voting equipment examination is supposed to be focused on how the machines currently operate, not on how they could operate if they are tinkered with and loaded with rogue software in an attempt to simulate a chess game on a machine, for example,” Shafer said.

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