Activists cry foul in electronic voting furore

Andrew Gumbel
27 June 2004

US voting activists who fear an "electoral train wreck" worse than Florida 2000 if electronic ballot machines are allowed to determine the outcome of November's presidential election, are claiming a breakthrough victory after the scandal-ridden resignation of one of the country's most outspoken e-voting apologists.

After years denying the evidence that touchscreen voting machines were unreliable and prone to tampering, the registrar of voters in Riverside County, California, Mischelle Townsend, suddenly announced her retirement - supposedly to spend more time with her family.

It seems more than likely, however, than her decision was swayed by a looming lawsuit challenging her handling of a recount in a local county race in March, and a flurry of allegations about her own conduct in office and the misleading claims of Sequoia Voting Systems, the company that makes and services the county's voting machinery.

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