Gaming machines are regulated so neither the casino nor the patron can cheat the system and steal.  Unfortunately, the current voting machines in Nevada could allow someone to cheat the system and steal votes!

Program Never Recertified when Changed.  Both Clark and Washoe machines were originally certified by an independent testing facility and then certified by the Secretary of State.  However,  upgrades have not been certified by the State.

When I asked why the changed programs had not been certified, I was told that these merely got rid of previous bugs or did not affect the counting of votes since they were just little changes.  

This is like being just a little bit pregnant. In gaming machines, any change must be retested.

Memory Chip Accessible. In gaming machines a special key is required to access the chip that holds the program that controls the machine.  In Washoe, you just have to remove 5 screws.

Software to Total the Results from the Machines Was Never  Certified!!

Is the Program in the Voting Machine the Same as Was Tested?

In gaming machines, the program chip is periodically tested  to make sure it is the same as the one that was approved.  With voting machines, the chip is never tested on site.

Minimal Testing Before Election 

At least two weeks before the election the machines are certified by running less than 30 pre-marked ballots through to test  accuracy  It would be simple to have a program that counted accurately for the first 100 votes and then started adjusting.Since Clark County has no paper ballots, the test is hand entered and there is no paper trail.

Lets make our voting machines be as accurate as our gaming machines!  

Can We Trust Nevada Elections?

Based on my experience with computer programming in my husbands engineering firm, I must say,   NO!!

No paper trail on all the votes in Clark County.  Yes, the computer can print out the vote later - but this could be the adjusted vote instead of the real vote. A true recount is impossible.

Are All Voters Real People?

Since the 1993 Federal Motor Voter law, voter registration is allowed at DMVs and at public assistance offices.

No proof of citizenship required. In Orange County the INS found tens of thousands of noncitizens on voter lists.  We require employers to verify citizenship or green card, why not voters?

No verification of identification  when registering by mail or voting.  Even when voting in person, the signature is just matched with the registration.

Possible Solutions:

Work to change federal law.

Require proof of citizenship for registering to vote and show identification for voting for  offices.  

Require paper ballot  

Test machine in election mode for full day & verify all chips are the same.

Allow output of  ballot scanner to be read by other computers (one for each party). 

Work with the people who test gaming machines to develop a program for certifying voting machines.

Summary of Concerns of 1998 Voting Machine Certification

Click here for a PDF version of Lois' letter to the Attorney General on Voting Machine Security

Lois describes the certification process that she watched in 1998 for both Clark and Washoe County and how much of it does not follow NRS requirements.  She also proposes possible corrections.