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Motion expressing the sense of Council of Allegheny County and urging the Board of Elections not to consider electronic voting systems manufactured by Diebold, Inc. as viable alternatives for Allegheny County's move to a HAVA-compliant voting system.
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WHEREAS, the Help America Vote act requires the replacement of Allegheny County's lever voting machines in time for the May 2006 Primary Election; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County has been advised by the Department of Administrative Services to acquire approximately 5,600 Diebold TSX voting machines, and the Board of Elections, which is vested with authority over purchasing new voting machines under the Pennsylvania Election Code at 25 P.S. ยง2642(c), is currently considering this purchase; and
WHEREAS, the voters of Allegheny County who have commented upon the acquisition of Diebold machines have overwhelmingly voiced their distrust of both the manufacturer and its product; and
WHEREAS, comments made by the voters have highlighted a promise made by the then Chief Executive Officer of Diebold, Walden O'Dell, that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to" one party's candidate in the 2004 general election, as evidence of Diebold's partiality; and
WHEREAS, these comments have also highlighted Mr. O'Dell's federally designated status as a fundraising Pioneer, a designation that is only made when an individual has raised at least $100,000 for the campaign activities of a specific party, as indicative of Diebold's established and longstanding partisan political activities; and
WHEREAS, comments have also centered upon the decertification of Diebold's TSX machines in California in 2004, which was occasioned in part by allegations that Diebold installed uncertified software on its machines on the eve of California's March 2004 primary, an action which could constitute a violation of both federal and California election law; and
WHEREAS, in the course of t...
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