16 December 2004
CHICAGO, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and
National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) have approved a new, innovative voting machine that is the first electronic system to meet new federal standards by combining the advantages,
flexibility and simplicity of computer-based touch screen voting with the assurances provided by a tangible paper ballot.
By using the best of both approaches, the Populex system is designed to restore voter confidence that their votes will be
counted accurately.
The Populex voting system is one of the first to be certified under the new, more stringent
2002 federal voting system standards, which many states will require for state certification. Systems used in the 2004 elections
were certified to the 1990 standards that permit a host of problems that are still coming to light. Many companies are jury-rigging
these older systems in an attempt to compensate for their shortcomings. In contrast, the Populex voting system was designed
from the start with the new regulations, customer demands and people with disabilities in mind.
"We are excited to have a voting solution that is affordable, practical and gives voters
full confidence that their votes will be counted and, if necessary, re-counted correctly," said Sanford Morganstein, president
of Populex. "Comparing the Populex voting system to the machines used in the 2004 election is like comparing a Lexus to an
Edsel."
Unlike most other touch screen systems that risk losing votes, the Populex system doesn't
collect and store votes electronically in the voting computer.
Instead, Populex prints an official ballot, equipped with a bar code that is scanned
to reliably record and count the votes. This paper ballot is the official ballot that's counted on Election Day and also the
audit trail needed for recounts. Additionally, Populex's technology helps prevent voters from making errors and provides several
opportunities for them to verify their selections.
"If the Populex voting system was used during the 2004 election in Florida
and Ohio, the resulting conspiracy theories would not exist," said Morganstein.
"After voting on the Populex system, each voter can leave the polls with the confidence that his or her votes have been accurately
recorded and will be accurately counted."
Populex Corporation's advisory board includes both Democrats and Republicans -- including
Tony Coelho, former Democratic Congressman and author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Frank Carlucci, former
Secretary of Defense and Advisor to the President for National Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration. This bi-partisan
participation helps ensure that Populex focuses on protecting and increasing confidence in the democratic process without
favoring or even being perceived as favoring one political party over another.
"Counting votes accurately is neither a Democratic nor a Republican ideal, it's an
American ideal," said Coelho. "Frank and I are involved with Populex because we believe it provides the best option across
the country to bring confidence back to our voting process."
Carlucci added, "I have found that once people see this machine, they scratch their
heads and wonder three things: 'What took so long?'; 'Why didn't I think of this?'; and 'When can I get it?'."
Now, with federal approval, Populex will be marketing its innovative system to the
election officials and voters who are eagerly awaiting a system that provides both the benefits of touch screen voting with
the confidence of an official paper ballot.
Sanford Morganstein, president of Populex, is the man who brought us the automated
attendant, "press 1 for ... " phone technology, and now he's created the Populex voting system, which eliminates the problems
associated with the touch screen, punch card and optical scan voting systems of the past, and directly addresses the ongoing
controversy about the reliability, accuracy and security of touch screen voting systems.
About Populex
Populex Corporation provides a touch screen voting system that prints an official voter-verified
paper ballot. This official paper ballot can be privately verified by all voters, including the blind and visually impaired,
in the language in which they voted. It also has features which prevent counterfeiting or accidentally counting the same ballot
more than once. Using bar code technology, the ballots can be counted at high speed with unparalleled accuracy. They can also
be recounted both mechanically and manually, if necessary. Because the Populex "Digital Paper Ballot(TM)" is the official
record of each voter's choices, if a voting machine goes down, votes are not lost, providing voters with the confidence their
votes will be counted. In addition, both the Populex system and its Digital Paper Ballots are easy for election officials
to handle and store. The Populex system complies with the 2002 Help America Vote Act and the latest (2002) federal voting
system standards.
http://www.populex.com/
Carlucci: http://rightweb.irc-online.org/ind/carlucci/carlucci.php
Henderson: http://www.geol.vt.edu/general/newsletter/nov2000/henderson.html
Pitch to Congress: http://reform.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Morganstein1.pdf
Brief Machine Description:
http://www.populex.com/DPB_Intro.htm
Most other info I got in Lexis-Nexis by doing a biography search under "reference" of the peoples' names.
