But Ion Sancho, the elections supervisor of Leon County, Florida, has gotten himself in trouble by emphasizing this point. Sancho let some scientists try their best at hacking into some of his machines. They proved that there were, in fact, vulnerabilities.
That has made the companies who make the election machines pretty unhappy. They are refusing to sell Sancho their equipment in time for him to meet state-mandated guidelines on handicap-accessible voting equipment.
He's already had to return a $564,000 federal grant for want of a way to spend the money.
"I've essentially embarrassed the current companies for the way they do business, and now I believe I'm being singled out for punishment by the vendors," Sancho told The Washington Post.
The companies agree. Or, at least, a lawyer for Diebold has vowed not to sell Sancho any equipment unless he promises not to run any more tests on them.
