Five sue over electronic systems
A liquor option in Vernon Township was approved in the wrong precinct.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- James Callen of Austintown and four others have sued Mahoning, Trumbull and 56 other Ohio counties over the use of optical scan and direct recording electronic voting systems that they claim violate Ohio law and fail to provide voters with secure voting.
The suit, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Nov. 2, names the 58 counties using such systems sold by Diebold and ES & amp;S. Trumbull County uses Diebold touch-screen equipment. Mahoning County uses equipment by ES & amp;S. The suit also names as a defendant Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.
The suit says Diebold's touch-screen systems "have serious, fundamental security flaws, including the presence of illegal interpreted code that leave them highly vulnerable to election fraud through tampering with software and vote totals."
The suit said ES & amp;S systems have security flaws that allow them to be set so they do not require a password, allow the possibility of counterfeit cards to be installed and other problems.
The suit seeks to bar the counties from using their Diebold and ES & amp;S voting equipment in future elections.
At the Trumbull County Board of Elections meeting Tuesday, officials voted to allow James Saker, the assistant Trumbull County prosecutor who advises the board, to defend the county in the suit.
Saker said one of the first courses of action will be to answer the complaint by indicating that no Trumbull County resident is a party to the suit and therefore none of the plaintiffs can argue that they have suffered or will suffer personal harm because of the voting machines in Trumbull County.
Saker said nothing in the suit indicates that any voting fraud has occurred in Ohio as a result of the equipment.
Nov. 7 results certified
In other business, the board certified the results of the Nov. 7 election with no changes to any of the races or issues that would affect their outcome.
The board did learn, however, that a local liquor option approved by Vernon Township voters Nov. 7 was approved in the wrong precinct. Kelly Pallante, elections board director, said the measure was approved by a 64 percent to 36 percent ratio even though the restaurant seeking the option is not in the precinct where the votes were cast.
The board gave her permission to write to the Ohio Board of Liquor Control to advise the board that the election was held in the wrong precinct for Evan & amp; Linda's Real Home Cookin restaurant, 6147 state Route 7, because of an incorrect address the elections board received on the petitions received for the issue.
Saker said it is not the elections board's job to rule the liquor option to be improperly approved. It will be up to the Board of Liquor Control to determine whether that is the case, he said.
runyan@vindy.com