Election Systems & Software

Election Systems & Software (ES&S) is an American company that provides voting services. It was founded in 1979^[1] as American Information Systems Inc. (AIS), it merged with Business Records Corp. the following year and changed its name to ES&S.

ES&S is a subsidiary of McCarthy Group Inc., which is jointly held by the holding firm and the Omaha World-Herald Company, the publisher of Nebraska's largest newspaper.^{[citation needed]} As of 2007 it was the largest manufacturer of voting machines in the United States, claiming customers in 1,700 localities. As of 2007 it had approximately 350 employees; 2005 revenues were $117 million. ^[1]

Election issues and problems

1996

Chuck Hagel was CEO of American Information Systems Inc. (AIS), the same company that electronically counted 80% of the votes in the state in the very same election that he won his stunning upset. He did not disclose his position as CEO of the company in his mandated disclosures, until its name-change to Election Systems & Software (ES&S) in 1997. "Hagel’s ethics filings pose disclosure issue". The Hill. 2003-01-29. http://www.itu.dk/people/carsten/projects/e-voting/materials/hagel.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-06-27. 

2004

ES&S was one of the top four providers of voting companies used in the November 2004 election; the other three were Diebold Election Systems (now Premier Election Solutions), Sequoia Voting Systems and Hart InterCivic.

2006

After the November 2006 elections, Indiana launched an inquiry into poor service by the company, settling when it agreed to pay $750,000. West Virginia filed a formal complaint against the company with federal officials. Arkansas put together a panel to investigate. The company denied any major trouble with its machines, attributing problems to errors made by poll workers. ^[1]

2007

On August 3, 2007, California Secretary of state Debra Bowen withdrew approval of the ES&S InkaVote Plus optical scan voting system after a "top-to-bottom review" of the voting machines certified for use in California in March 2007.^[2]

2008

Early voters in the 2008 Presidential election have reported instances of malfunctioning machines. People complained that they voted for one candidate, only to have their selection switch to another.^[3] The clerk of Oakland County, Michigan reported inconsistent results with some machines during testing in October.^[4]

See also

• Electronic voting
• Voting machine

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Anita Kumar, "Top vote-machine maker also tops complaint list: Vendor discounts woes, blames poll workers", St. Petersburg Times, May 27, 2005
2. ^ "Rescission and Withdrawal of Approval of the Election Systems and Software InkaVote Plus Precinct Ballot Counting System, Version 2.1, as Approved on April 21, 2006". California Secretary of State. 2007-08-03. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting_systems/ess_rescission_withdrawal.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-08-15. 
3. ^ "Early Voting Sees Reports of Voter Intimidation, Machine Malfunctions". Democracy Now!. 2008-10-22. http://i3.democracynow.org/2008/10/22/votes. Retrieved on 2008-10-23. 
4. ^ "Letter from Ruth Johnson to Election Assistance Commission". Wired.com. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/files/m100_issue_letter_10.24.08.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-11-04. 

External links

• ES&S Website
• ProCon's ES&S Profile
• List of malfunctions and miscounts by ES&S voting machines