California has dealt another blow to proponents of electronic voting machines by drastically limiting the number of machines to be used in February's primaries. 

Only one machine per voting location will be allowed, and they will be used primarily by early voters and disabled voters, according to California Secretary of State Debra Bowen's new decision.

Bowen says many counties were pushed into buying electronic systems in order to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The act mandated all states upgrade their election operations, including their voting machines. 

Despite the act's intentions, the machines "were not properly reviewed or tested to ensure that they protected the integrity of the vote," said Bowen.

While Bowen says extensive restrictions like the ones in California, which include hardening servers and banning all modem and wireless connections, are necessary to protect the integrity of the vote, many other states continue to use the machines. 

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Currently, 18 U.S. states use the electronic systems in at least one county, and 10 states use them statewide, according to Pamela Smith, president of the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization Verified Voting Foundation. At least 38.4 percent of registered voters nationwide will use electronic machines in upcoming elections.

ABC News first reported on claims of serious potential problems with the Diebold Election Systems, Inc. (DESI) electronic voting machines on the eve of the 2004 presidential election when California election officials ordered thousands of DESI machines not to be used. 

California has since certified that DESI machines can be used again, yet with the requirement that a series of security procedures are used to overcome potential problems. The state also made it a requirement to have a paper ballot backup of the votes.

DESI has stood behind their product throughout the controversy.

"One hundred and twenty-six thousand DESI touch-screen voting solutions were used successfully across the country in November 2006," said DESI president Dave Byrd. "DESI's touch-screen voting solutions have been proven 100 percent accurate in tests conducted on Election Day in California and across the country."

DESI spokesperson Chris Riggall reaffirmed the machines are commonly used and finds the secretary's restrictions too harsh. 

"The kind of restrictions and limitations that the secretary has instated are not typical. In fact, they are quite atypical," he said.

Other representatives of electronic voting machine companies are also confident that these systems are accurate, secure, reliable and accessible. 

"We have continuously developed technology to meet the unique needs of each jurisdiction and voters. Today's voting technology is more accurate, more reliable and easier to use than ever before," said Election Systems & Software (ES&S) spokesman Ken Fields.

Furthermore, Riggall faults aspects other than the electronic systems themselves that can disrupt election results. He insists each machine has a "host of security features installed in each of the systems" to prevent error.   

Instead, Riggall attributes some of the flaws to a lack of "procedural and physical security" at the voting sites.

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