Humboldt County, CA found problems with the Dieblod GEMS system which it intended to replace, while it intended to continue to use its Diebold voter registration system. Now it is left with 90 days to find another solution as Dieblod executes its option to terminate its support of the county. Hard to interpret this as anyting but retribution and intimidation of the other juristictions, Brad Blog has the story <read>
As if you complained to GM that your fully paid for Humvee was a lemon and they said they would reposses it and your GTO next week.
It is interesting that the letter concerning the voter registration system, known as DIMS — in which no problems were either discovered or reported — is dated March 17, the day before the GEMS letter. The county’s DIMS voter registration database system is entirely separate from the GEMS vote counting system, and the county had hoped to continue using it. In fact, the county IT department was in the middle of performing a software upgrade to the DIMS system when the letters were received…
Back on April 6, Premier’s unfortunately-named spokesman Chris Riggall commented on the contract terminations to the Times-Standard: “We just believed it prudent to kind of make a, well, to essentially provide a clean break, or a fresh start, for however the county would like to proceed going forward. We thought it would provide the county an opportunity to make a fresh start.”
Another cautionary tale of they type of company we trust with our democracy and the dangers of dependence on vendors who supply proprietary technology.
