Diebold

Diebold, Incorporated ( NYSE: DBD) is a manufacturer of hardware and software systems for self-service machines. The main business is the sale and support of those same components. Diebold was founded in Ohio in August 1876 and is headquartered in North Canton.

Controversy over voting machines

Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems ), a subsidiary of Diebold, a manufacturer of electronic voting machines, introduced many of the voting machines for the U.S. presidential election in 2004 ago. The management of this business line is marked republican; and the CEO said that they wanted to help to win the votes in the electoral college for George W. Bush.

Internal memos from Diebold, which came to the public before the elections in 2004, contained, among other things, instructions to the employees who provide support in the polling stations in case of problems.

"Do not to offer then went opinions of our system, Even When Their failings become Obvious. "

" Do not give the reputation of our equipment from damaging statements; even if their problems should be obvious. "

Diebold is alleged that their voting machines do not meet basic safety requirements. First, neither the U.S. government nor the public access to the program code of the voting machines. Any software related Auszählfehler so can not be clarified. Second, the results of the Diebold voting machines are stored via the Internet on a server - server, which are usually made ​​of ordinary PCs and do not have firewalls. That it is possible, with the candidates votes to open the text file from an external computer and change - and this without leaving traces - was demonstrated by the activist Bev Harris. They also coined the term Black Box Voting - because no one can be quite sure what makes the machine with the voters vote. For this term: Black Box ( Psychology ) and Black Box ( system theory).

Diebold voting machines out of print for the votes cast no paper documents, and as a possible re-counting of votes is impossible. The number of votes, which has registered the computer, thus considered final. In comparison, for every single vote, the machines print in Brazil from a document that is then placed into a conventional ballot box. After the state of Ohio had filed a lawsuit against the voting machine manufacturer due to incorrect counting of votes was to Premier Election Solutions that due to a software error voices can be suppressed. This error for ten years was already in the software.

Critics claim that the company has been mainly due to the numerous documented problems with the voting machines under the brand Diebold the new name Premier Election Solutions. The name was changed in August 2007.