August 16th, 2007
Diebold wants out of elections, but buyers are scarce
Now that everyone realizes what a very bad idea electronic voting machines are, Diebold would like nothing more than to get out of the business. Alas, reports InfoWorld, it has been unable to sell Diebold Election Systems. Oh, and revenue projections for the company? Slashed.
DES has a new name, Premier Election Solutions, and a new, independent board. But that’s not helping with the sale of the unit, which has been on the block for a year, a spokesman said.
“Rapidly evolving political uncertainties and controversies surrounding state and jurisdiction purchases of electronic voting systems” have hampered Diebold’s attempts to sell its e-voting business, the company said in a release.
Overall projections for the election business are down to $120 million, from earlier guidance of as much as $215 million.
Earlier this month, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said the state would require additional security features for several e-voting systems, including Diebold’s. With the new security requirements, the state recertified e-voting systems from Diebold and two other manufacturers.
California’s decision played a small role in the decision to sell. “This is a cumulative effect,” a spokesman explained. “There’s a lot of activity in a lot of states.”
