Diebold promises total fix in MD just weeks before election

Cutting it a little close? Diebold says it will have every machine fixed by Oct. 16 for Maryland's general election on Nov. 7, the Capital News Service reports.

The company's electronic poll books, which record whether a voter has voted or not, were majorly broken in the state's primary, causing multiple machine crashes and out-of-sync registers.

"All units will be touched," said Ross Underwood, general manager of the ExpressPoll division of Ohio-based Diebold Election Systems, Inc., which was paid about $18.4 million for the new computerized voter check-in system known as an "e-poll book."

The company's vice president, Mike Lindross, reiterated Diebold's commitment to Maryland and said that his company was "on target" with a timetable for repairs and tests set by state elections administrator Linda H. Lamone.

At a state senate hearing, elections administrator Linda Lamone warned: "We're not going to use the e-poll books unless Diebold is able to demonstrate to me that they're in tip-top shape."

To that end she said the company would conduct a daylong test of the e-poll books Oct. 3, simulating a full day of voting for three counties. She noted the test would be additionally vetted by an independent quality assurance team.