New fraud concerns over Dutch ballot computers
Print storyGood enough for local elections
Posted in Public Sector, 5th January 2007 13:41 GMT
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A Dutch plan to use e-voting computers by manufacturer Sdu for the coming provincial elections in March has met with fierce criticism.
In October Dutch intelligence service AIVD tested over 1200 e-voting machine by Sdu and found them unreliable. An investigation by the intelligence service revealed that the radio signals used by the computers to record votes could be intercepted 20 to 30 meters away. Minister for Administrative Reform Atzo Nicolai withdrew the permit for the use of the computers.
However, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior now believes the Sdu computers can be used for the provincial elections, which usually don't draw huge crowds to the polling booth.
Dutch IT experts from anti e-voting group Wij vertrouwen stemcomputers niet (We don't trust voting computers) are against using the Sdu machines.
Last year the group revealed that NEDAP e-voting machines could be made to record inaccurate voting preferences and even be reprogrammed to run a chess program. The Dutch group believe the Sdu machines suffer from a potential weakness: they run under Windows XP using a wireless modem.®
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