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The federal government confronts what could be attempts to rig the congressional elections in November.
A new study reported that researchers were able to hack one of the most widely used voting machines in the United States. The researchers asserted that the machine could be hacked within four minutes using $12 worth of tools.
"By planting a virus far enough in advance, [a hacker] can ensure that a significant number of machines can steal votes on Election Day," the report by Princeton University said.
The report comes after the House has been warned of the vulnerability of U.S. voting machines and the prospect that the vote-count could be hampered in the forthcoming elections. Congress has failed to approve legislation that would require a paper trail for independent vote verification.
Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy asserted that hackers could break into voting systems and either destroy them or rig their results. A university team reported the development of what it termed simple software virus to rig the Diebold AccuVote-TS, one of the most widely used voting machines in the United States.
"It's like the old days when viruses were spread on floppy disks," said Edward Felten, one of the three researchers.
The Princeton researchers also posted a demonstration video of their entry into the voting machine. They demonstrated that within a minute a malicious code could be installed on the voting machine and then disappear, without leaving evidence of tampering.
The study asserted that the virus code could spread from machine to machine. An infected memory card inserted into another voting machine would leave that open to rigging. The team demonstrated that it could replace the original card with an infected card, reboot the machine, which would install the software.
The Diebold AccuVote, which has been proven vulnerable by other researchers, uses a removable memory card for storing vote counts and upload system software. Another team reported that Diebold could be hacked within four minutes by using $12 worth of tools.
On Sept. 21, Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. urged the state to dismantle its $106 million electronic voting apparatus and revert to a paper ballot system for the November election. The governor issued his appeal a week after the primary election, which used Diebold systems, was plagued by human error and technical mishaps.
"When in doubt, go paper, go low-tech," Mr. Ehrlich said.
In 2002, Congress, in the wake of the flawed 2000 presidential elections, approved legislation to introduce the electronic, touch-screen voting machine. The law did not mandate paper ballots as a backup.
The following year, Rep. Rush Holt, New Jersey Democrat, sponsored the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, which would have required that electronic voting machines leave a paper trail for independent vote verification. The legislation never came up for a vote on the House floor.
Congress has been consulting with experts on ways to overcome Election Day hackers. One proposal was to introduce so-called independent verification devices that would provide a separate voting record.
"It's a complex problem," Mr. Felten said. "An IVD has to get input directly from the voter, and still, you can't tell what's happening inside the computer. If you want independent verification, you need [an independent] paper trail. That's the best safeguard right now." | 
