Audit logs were supposed to be the fail-safe of elections, an indestructible record of votes to assure the accuracy of electronic voting machines.
But thanks in part to research at Cleveland State University, California has found problems with the audit logs of Premier Elections Solutions, the maker of optical-scan and touch-screen systems used in 33 states and half of Ohio's 88 counties, including Lorain, Medina and Portage.
The Premier software does not keep track of ballot deletions, according to a recent report by the California secretary of state. The software also records the wrong entry date and time for some ballots and allows audit logs to be deleted.
Such flaws mean that insiders could tamper with election results, then erase their electronic trail.
Experts say the problem could violate voting system standards.
"You can very easily erase entries," said Candice Hoke, director of CSU's Center for Election Integrity. "These are flaws in the design, and they're part of the concerns motivating the California secretary of state right now."
Hoke collaborated with researchers from Princeton, Stanford and the University of California on a 2007 review of California's voting machines. The report noted that audit logs could be overwritten or erased.
After a hearing last week with Green-based Premier, formerly known as Diebold, California is considering its options.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner would not comment on the problem, citing a pending lawsuit against Premier.
Cuyahoga County is also involved in the suit, in which Brunner argues Premier should pay for voting machine problems in Cuyahoga and 10 other counties.
Cuyahoga dropped Premier for Election Systems & Software after Premier's vote-counting software crashed in the November 2007 election.
Premier officials did not return calls for comment.