Bruce McPherson Passes a Test

We were worried when Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Republican Bruce McPherson to fill out the term of Democrat Kevin Shelley. We were worried that McPherson would not pursue Shelley's aggressive insistance on paper-trail voting machines. We were worried that McPherson would climb into bed with Diebold.

He hasn't.

In fact, according to InsideBayArea.com (hat tip to truthout), McPherson has just concluded a massive test of Diebold's "flagship" machine, and the test exposed unacceptable flaws — paper jams, machine freezes — in fully 10% of the iterations. McPherson has told Diebold "no dice."

Diebold has said it will go back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, there are implications for other states poised to use the machines:

Rejection of the TSx by California, the nation's largest voting-system market, could influence local elections officials from Utah, Mississippi and Ohio, home of Diebold corporate headquarters, where dozens of counties are poised to purchase the latest Diebold touch screens.State elections officials in Ohio say they still have confidence in the machines.

Confidence, eh? In Ohio, eh?

Earlier this year McPherson told Governor Schwarzenegger that the governor's pet redistricting plan wouldn't fly in time for the 2006 election.*

McPherson, who ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2002, may be gearing up to run for the Republican nomination for governor next year. If Schwarzenegger's star continues to fall, McPherson may find his independence from the incumbent a big plus. If that's the way it plays, remember that you read it here first.

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*Prop 77, which puts the redistricting question directly to the voters, was slated to be on the ballot in November's Special Election — but its fate has yet to be decided in the California courts. A Superior Court judge knocked it off the ballot in response to a suit filed by state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who cited irregularities in getting the proposition onto the ballot in the first place. A District Court of Appeal has since issued a stay of the lower court's order pending a hearing of an appeal. The loser in the appeal will likely take the case to the California Supreme Court.