The center of the investigation is the log design which allows "election official or someone else to delete votes without leaving an electronic trail." But according to a previous statement by Justin Bales, general service manager of the company making the machines, it's not so much a flaw in design as it is in planning:

We never . . . intended for any malicious intent and not to log certain activities," Bales said. "It was just not in the initial program, but now we're taking a serious look at that.

Whatever the cause or reason, at least new versions of the voting machines include more comprehensive logs as well as safeguards against alterations, but it's about damn time the previous ones are being investigated. [Wired]

The Diebold machines achieved notoriety in the 2004 presidential election, losing hundreds of votes and exhibiting several serious security flaws. This is equipment proven to be vulnerable to attack, and Michael I. Shamos, professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and an official examiner of Pennsylvania electronic voting systems, said the machines had "the most severe security flaw ever discovered in a voting system." In 2006, dropped votes were discovered in 11 of the 44 Ohio counties in which the equipment was used.

Premier pre-emptively sued Brunner and the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, seeking a court order that they have held up their side of the contract. This is evidently a standard move when one party believes they are about to be sued, as a decision in Premier's favor would prevent Cuyahoga County from suing for breach of contract. Brunner's suit, actually a countersuit, is an attempt to recover taxpayer money spent on the faulty machines, to the tune of $22 million.

The scariest part of the story is that these machines are still somehow in use, and it is too late to make the change to the recommended optically-scanned paper ballots by this November's election. Brunner says Ohio residents should remain calm as they vote this fall, and that officials will be on hand to make sure all votes are tallied. There, now you Ohioans can vote in total confidence! [Ars Technica]