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title: Chaos Computer Club takes legal proceedings against the voting computer in Hesse
date: 2009-03-05 23:23:03
updated: 2009-11-12 16:38:53
author: admin
tags: update
With the aid of a voter in Hesse, the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) has filed for an injunction with the State Supreme Court of Hesse against the use of voting computers in the forthcoming state election.
<!-- TEASER_END -->
The use of the insecure NEDAP voting computer which has proven to be
susceptible to manipulation is not contested in Hesse only.
By taking this step, the CCC is attempting to bring about a voting
procedure that is reliable and plausible for all voters before the state
elections on 27th January. Recourse to the court has become necessary
since the Hesse state government evidently does not have the required
expert knowledge to understand the technical security and transparency
flaws of the voting machines, nor the will to act accordingly.
Following the issue, on 6th December, of the use permit by the Hesse
Ministry of the Interior, only eight cities and districts have decided
to allow voters to vote with the computerized voting system. The voters
of Alsbach-Hähnlein, Bad Soden, Lampertheim, Langen, Niedernhausen,
Niestetal, Obertshausen and Viernheim being forced to entrust their
votes to the questionable computers.
“There is a growing resistance stirring among the population against the
use of the NEDAP voting computer, known to be vulnerable to
manipulation”, said CCC spokesman Dirk Engling. “After a virtually
identical voting machine from the same manufacturer was recently
completely rejected in the Netherlands, more and more concerned citizens
have turned to the CCC. The voters do not understand why the same
rejection cannot also be drawn in Germany. The legal path which has now
been chosen is the last chance to save the transparency of the elections
in Hesse.” \[1\], \[2\]
With the CCC's authoritative support, an application for an injunction
has therefore been submitted to the Hesse State Supreme Court to
prohibit the use of the computer-assisted voting procedure.
Following the publication of press releases and discussion in scientific
publications of the severe weaknesses of the NEDAP Voting Computers, the
Hesse Ministry of the Interior has decreed the use "security measures"
that do not address the fundamental problems with the voting machine
system.
The CCC has watched these attempts to patch a broken system in December
at a test election in Alsbach-Hähnlein.
"The new security measures planned in Hesse which should prevent
election fraud can only be seen as a time-wasting and expensive foolish
act." commented Engling. “The voter doesn't know if software or hardware
has been manipulated”. Some counties in Hesse have decided not to
participate in the test elections and storage procedures and have gone
back to the paper based voting system. Others have given up the use of
voting computers citing financial or reliability reasons.
Thousands of anxious citizens have supported the CCC initiative, which
is financed by the Wau Holland Foundation. “We were surprised that not
only have 45,000 people joined the petition to dispose of voting
computers, but also that many of them chose to financially support the
campaign against the voting computer”, said Engling \[3\], \[4\].
For more information please contact presse\@ccc.de and, if applicable,
give a telephone number to be contacted on.
### Links (mostly German)
- \[1\] [Wahlcomputer ausgemustert: Niederlande wählt wieder auf
Papier](/updates/2007/wahlcomputer-ausgemustert)
- \[2\] [Wahlcomputer sind nicht
sicher](/press/releases/2007/20070609/)
- \[3\] [Anti-Wahlcomputer-Petition endet mit großem Erfolg.
Weltweiter Trend gegen Wahlcomputer](/updates/2006/petition-ende)
- \[4\] [The campaign against the usage of voting machines asks for
funding and support](/updates/2007/wahlcomputer-spenden)
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