Library Journal Review

Computerized voting machines count around 87 percent of ballots in U.S. elections. Recent studies question the accuracy and security of such systems. Filmmakers Ardizzone and Michaels document the investigation by Seattle-based literary publicist and activist Bev Harris of machines manufactured by the Diebold Corporation. Dissatisfied with local election officials' explanations of why King County purchased touch-screen voting machines, Harris began her own research, which led to the discovery of Diebold software code on an unsecure area of the company's web site. Analysis of the code by computer experts revealed serious flaws in the software, raising the possibility of ballot tampering. Harris also uncovered mishandling of voting records in Florida and Ohio that might have affected the outcome of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, respectively. The film ends with a demonstration of how to rig elections using these machines. Executives from Diebold and election officials from Florida and Ohio vouch for the security of the machines and procedures in these two states. While vote rigging in U.S. elections is not new, the filmmakers present a chilling cautionary tale on how simple it is for unscrupulous individuals to corrupt the process for their own ends. Highly recommended for all collections.-Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.