State Official: Election Company May Have Violated Law

INDIANAPOLIS -- Election-related problems in several Indiana counties is prompting the secretary of state to point fingers at an election vendor.

Secretary of State Todd Rokita said Friday that he has served notice to Election Systems and Software of 30 potential violations. The charges include providing defective voting systems and ballots, and installing uncertified equipment.

ES&S provides election equipment in 27 Indiana counties, but problems have been noted in three of them, including Marion and Johnson counties.

The company could face a total fine of $9 million. ES&S will have a chance to defend itself against the allegations in a hearing May 8, six days after the primary election.

A top executive from ES&S apologized for Indiana's voting problems at a hearing last week.

Last-Minute Approval Gievn To Second Company's Software

Also Friday, a company that supplies voting systems to 47 counties won a temporary reprieve from state officials that will allow hundreds of thousands of Indiana residents to vote by machine instead of paper ballots in Tuesday's primary.

The Indiana Election Board granted last-minute certification to software that Indianapolis-based MicroVote General Corp. had installed in dozens of counties without state approval. Without the nod, counties that used the software on Tuesday would have violated state law.

The commission will continue to investigate MicroVote after the primary, and that could result in hefty fines.

MicroVote said earlier this week that its software had passed testing by an outside laboratory -- a necessary step for the state's election commission to certify the software. Co-directors of the Indiana Election Division recommended Friday that the commission approve the equipment, which its four members did.