The Diebold optical scan machines being pitched by LHS Associates in New England are mighty pricey -- but just how pricey depends on whether you are a taxpayer in Vermont, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts.

- In Vermont, the Diebold "AccuVote" optical scan machine have been offered for $4,500 each. Yet in Marlborough (MA) and Londonderry (NH), LHS is asking for $6,500 each.

There are more reasons to question the LHS bids:

- The Diebold AccuVote machines use archaic technology that is nearly obsolete, and requires memory cards that are NO LONGER MANUFACTURED, thereby guaranteeing obsolescence within the next few years.

Black Box Voting purchased a Diebold AccuVote optical scan machine and took it to a computer reseller for a videotaped examination. What we learned: This system is based on technology from the 1980s. It also contains a number of security vulnerabilities.

- The AccuVote machine was hacked by Harri Hursti in the HBO film "Hacking Democracy." The security defects he found were corroborated by scientists assigned to study the system by the California Secretary of State.

Hursti study: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/BBVreport.pdf

California study: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2197/14295.html

When the manufacturer claimed that this vulnerability could be mitigated with seals, two 50-year-old women from Black Box Voting, neither of whom have technical skills -- circumvented the seals in four minutes using $12 worth of tools available at any hardware store. Here is a link to photographs of middle-aged women bypassing security on the Diebold AccuVote machine: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/36510.html

Why the Londonderry purchase should be further questioned

The budget recommendation featuring the pricey $6,500 per machine was presented by the Londonderry budget committee chaired by John Silvestro, who also happens to be president of LHS Associates, the firm trying to sell the machines.

News article on Marlborough pending purchase, quoting $6,500 per machine for a total purchase price of $100,000: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/8/46474.html

News article on Vermont offer for $4,500 per machine:http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/8/46475.html

Documents showing Londonderry quote of $6,500 per machine, and John Silvestro's position as chair of Londonderry Finance Committee, and John Silvestro's position as president of LHS: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/157/46448.html

Other concerns:

Is Diebold Election Systems ("DESI") on the selling block? Black Box Voting has now received tips from three independent sources that Diebold is trying to offload its election division. According to one tip, the deal is being brokered by a Washington D.C. firm. Two of the tips reported independently that deals have been difficult due to Diebold's reported insistence on keeping certain key employees in place after the sale. While this information should be considered speculative, two of the tipsters have provided information several times to Black Box Voting in the past, and in every case they proved to be correct.

But that's not all: In addition, statements were made by a Diebold executive to reporter for Fortune Magazine in November concerning the possible sale of the division.

What this means

Any governmental jurisdiction seeking to spend taxpayer dollars on the machines should secure additional guarantees pertaining to a possible change of ownership, regarding tech support, replacement parts, and warranty guarantees.

In particular, guarantees should be required for the Epson 40-pin memory card needed to operate the system, because it was taken out of production and is no longer manufactured. Substitution of another card would require recertification of the system, and because the other technology is obsolete also, jurisdictions should evaluate whether a redesign and recertification is likely to be done at all on the old AccuVote machines being pitched to New England municipalities for $6,500 each.

Photos of the inside of the archaic AccuVote machinery can be found at Black Box Voting here: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/73/36563.html