State of New Jersey
Commission of Investigation
SCI FINDS WEAKNESSES
IN THE PROCUREMENT
AND OVERSIGHT
OF ELECTRONIC VOTING
MACHINES
Immediate release
December 5, 2007,
Contact: Lee
Seglem, SCI, 609-292-6767
TRENTON –- The process by
which electronic voting machines are purchased and certified for use in New
Jersey should be overhauled because it lacks competitive bidding, independent
oversight and uniform contracting practices –- weaknesses that expose the system
to possible manipulation and abuse, the State Commission of Investigation (SCI)
concludes in a report issued today.
“It is crucial that the integrity of the voting system be ensured,” the SCI
report states. “While no specific improprieties were discovered, the
Commission identified several critical areas in which the procurement and
performance of voting machines are considerably vulnerable to abuse.”
Electronic voting machines are mandated by state law and are used throughout New
Jersey, having completely replaced paper ballots and/or manually-operated
machines in each of the State’s 21 counties. The SCI found that:
• The State maintains no centralized
procurement process, leaving the actual purchase of the machines to the
discretion of each county. Further, vendors may be selected without
competitive public bidding, and nothing in the statutory or regulatory structure
mandates accountability, transparency or independent oversight of this process.
• The State has no mechanism to ensure that
voting machines currently in use have been independently tested and certified to
comply with standards and requirements set forth in the federal Help America
Vote Act of 2002.
• In purchasing electronic voting machines, a
number of counties failed to enter into signed contracts with the vendor.
Counties lacking such contracts received no documentation that the machines they
purchased were in compliance with HAVA or other election laws.
In order to ensure that voters “have complete confidence that the State’s voting
system is secure and reliable,” the Commission recommends establishment of a
centralized voting-machine procurement system subject to competitive bidding
requirements similar to those in effect in other states.
With regard to the issue of certifying that the machines are in full compliance
with all relevant state and federal laws, the Commission recommends that New
Jersey establish a mechanism to provide for independent testing or, at a
minimum, some means to ensure adequate state oversight of the testing process.
Further, signed vendor contracts should be required for the execution of voting
machine purchases. Such official documentation is necessary to provide
legal protections to the buyer and to establish a written certification of the
transaction –- both of which are objectives in the best interests of the
tax-paying and voting public.
• • •
The State Commission of Investigation is an independent New
Jersey watchdog agency established in 1968. Copies of reports are
available at the Commission’s offices or via its Web site at
www.state.nj.us/sci.
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