From Electionline.org
August 13, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC (PRWEB) —
Electionline.org today announced the release of the
first nonpartisan and non-advocacy look at the
political campaign contributions and lobbying
activities of the largest producers of e-voting
machines.
The report found that voting machine manufacturers
have been mostly pragmatic in their political
activities, giving money to each party and largely
staying out of campaigns in key states considering the
purchase of their wares—with two significant
exceptions.
Early funding efforts focused on passing an initiative
in support of a California bond to fund the local
purchase of e-voting machines. Similarly, executives
from Ohio-based Diebold Inc. gave generously to
national and state Republican candidates.
The report also found, however, that manufacturers
have not made significant campaign contributions in
states such as Florida, Georgia and Maryland where
lucrative contracts were rewarded in 2001 and 2002.
Research also indicated no significant home-field
advantage for companies seeking contracts with their
state or local governments.
"With the election approaching, there has been some
concern about how active these companies are, and
important questions of whether they should be
politically active at all," said Doug Chapin, director
of electionline.org. "This report finds that, compared
with other industries that seek government contracts,
the political contributions have been minimal. And
with Diebold Election Systems' recent decision to
limit corporate political activity, it should decrease
even more."
"Some experts we interviewed said that the companies
should disengage themselves from the partisan campaign
aspects of the election process," Chapin said. "The
industry has said it does not need to sacrifice the
constitutional rights of its executives and employees
because of the field in which they are employed."
Since 2001, the major election machine manufacturers—Diebold,
Election Systems & Software, Sequoia Voting
Systems and Hart InterCivic—have combined to
contribute just over $650,000 to candidates, political
parties or, public initiative campaigns. The largest
share—$411,320 from 2001 to 2003—came from
Diebold, given to Republican candidates and party
coffers.
The report noted Diebold and its board members gave
mostly to Ohio candidates and office holders, and
President George W. Bush. The report notes that
Diebold, unlike other election system companies,
generates far more revenue from other segments,
including banking. But it raised eyebrows when CEO
Walden O'Dell vowed in a fundraising letter last year
to "deliver" Ohio's electoral votes to Bush.
The remaining three companies gave to Democrats over
the same period—$45,550 compared to just under
$30,000 to Republicans.
Electionline.org is a project of the University of
Richmond sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The
full report, "The Business of Elections" is available
at The Pew Charitable Trusts Web site
(www.pewtrusts.org) or at www.electionline.org.
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