Diebold Completes Statewide Election System for Maryland

As the final jurisdiction
in Maryland to convert to touch-screen technology provided by Diebold Election
Systems, Baltimore City will implement more than 1,900 touch-screen units to
replace their existing 250-pound, full-face voting systems.
The completion of the third phase of the uniform statewide Maryland
election system project, initiated in 2002, will enable the entire Maryland
electorate to use more than 18,000 Diebold touch-screen voting units. The
agreement with the state of Maryland also includes maintenance and support
services. Initial deployment of the voting stations in Baltimore City is
scheduled for the 2006 election cycle.
A Cal Tech/MIT study conducted following the November 2004 general
election indicates that the state of Maryland experienced the lowest voter
error rate in the nation during the election, with Diebold Election Systems'
touch-screen voting solutions installed virtually statewide. In addition, the
study indicates Maryland voter error decreased by 40 percent when results from
the general election in 2000 were compared to the general election of 2004,
primarily due to the touch-screen system implementation.
"We look forward to working with Baltimore City election officials to
provide their electorate with the same accurate and easy-to-use system used in
all other Maryland jurisdictions," said Thomas W. Swidarski, president,
Diebold Election Systems. "The three-phase statewide project implementation
in Maryland has progressed extremely well and has produced very successful,
accurate and secure elections for jurisdictions throughout the state."
The Help America Vote Act requires all voters to have the ability to cast
their ballot with an equal level of privacy and independence. All Diebold
touch-screen voting stations support voice guidance capability, enabling blind
and visually impaired voters to privately make candidate selections and cast
their ballots independently.
Diebold Election Systems, Inc. is a wholly owned operating subsidiary of
Diebold, Incorporated, a global leader in providing integrated self-service
delivery systems and services. Diebold Election Systems provides high-quality
voting technology to jurisdictions of all sizes, along with comprehensive
service and support capability, and is committed to elections accuracy,
security and integrity. For more information on Diebold Election Systems,
visit the company's Web site at http://www.dieboldes.com, or call
1-800-433-VOTE.

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