Nation & World News
Advent of Internet voting
has all eyes on Michigan
Michigan will serve as the
test case for online voting
and if successful could
mean a new age of politics
By Colleen McCain Nelson
The Dallas Morning News (KRT)
DALLAS — Michigan's caucus is
the next in a long line of tests for the
presidential candidates and this year's
first test of virtual voting.
With the click of a mouse, Democ
rats can cast their ballots online in
the only state using Internet voting
this year.
More than 21,000 people have
logged in to vote. State party officials
predict the Internet option will help
reverse a decline in voter turnout.
Officials expect a total turnout of
about 300,000.
"Since it's been so difficult to get
voters to the polling places, we decid
ed to take the polling places to the
voters," said Mark Brewer, executive
chairman of the Michigan Democrat
ic Party.
About 123,000 Democrats sub
mitted applications that would al
low them to vote online or by mail.
During the final hours before Satur
day's deadline, the party received an
average of one application per sec
ond, Brewer said.
"People have really embraced
this," he said. "It has generated enor
mous energy."
Not everyone was enthused. Some
of the candidates tried to block Inter
net voting, with Rev. Al Sharpton
deeming it a high-tech poll tax.
Phil Noble, founder of PoliticsOn
line, said candidates across the coun
try have been wary of Internet voting.
"The barriers to online voting are
not technical but are political," he
said. "We have a whole group of
people called politicians who say,
'Wait a minute. I don't want to
change the rules.'"
Brewer emphasized the Internet
was a supplemental option. All of
the traditional venues are still avail
able to voters.
"This was never exclusively an In
ternet voting system — that would be
discriminatory," he said.
The state party has identified 2,500
places throughout the state, such as
public libraries, where online access is
free and open to the public.
Several countries use virtual voting,
but the United States has been slow to
embrace the concept, Noble said.
Security concerns are often cited as
the primary reason for resistance to
high-tech voting. Thursday, the Penta
gon scrapped plans to allow U.S. citi
zens overseas to vote online, saying
the system was vulnerable to hackers,
according to The Associated Press.
But Noble said the technology ex
ists to ensure security. .
"The international banking com
munity for years has known how to
move gazillions of dollars around
the world," he said. "I think we can
figure out how to get my vote down
to the courthouse."
Thad Hall, co-author of the book
"Point, Click, and Vote: The Future of
Internet Voting," said the transition to
online voting should be gradual, al
lowing governments and political par
ties to identify problems and work
out any kinks in the system.
As the Internet generation comes of
age, more voters will demand online
voting, he said.
For now, Michigan is a good start
and a useful test case, Hall said.
"The Michigan trial is going to go
off and no one will have stolen the
election," he said. "Now, if Dennis
Kucinich wins, we'll know that there
was a problem."
(c) 2004, The Dallas Morning News.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
Despite major investigations,
Halliburton is trading high
The embattled company
has received a share high
even though four federal
inquiries are undetermined
By Jim Landers
The Dallas Morning News (KRT)
WASHINGTON — Halliburton
Co.'s troubles with auditors and inves
tigations continue to pile up, but the
company's shares are trading near a
30-month high.
"I think what you have here is the
most heavily scrutinized government
contractor in recent history," said UBS
analyst James Stone.
That's the company's message too,
with a television ad released Thursday
touting its work in Iraq.
"We're serving the troops because
of what we know, not who we know,"
said David Lesar, Halliburton's chair
man and chief executive, in the ad.
Scrutiny of Halliburton's political
connections stems from Vice Presi
'dent Dick Cheney's tenure as chief ex
ecutive from 1995 to 2000.
"They get unfairly maligned sim
ply because of their past association
with me," Cheney said in a recent ra
dio interview.
Wall Street continues to favor Hal
liburton. Its shares reached a 52
week high of $30.68 a share on Tues
day and closed Thursday at $29.40,
off 70 cents.
Still, three federal agencies are
probing Halliburton matters that
took place during Cheney's tenure. So
far, none of the investigations has led
to action against the company or the
suggestion of wrongdoing on Ch
eney's part.
The Securities and Exchange Com
mission is investigating why Hal
liburton didn't tell investors of a
change in accounting practices that
counted cost overruns as revenues
beginning in 1998.
The Treasury Department is look
ing at its deals in Iran.
The Justice Department is checking
whether the company had a role in
bribing Nigerians for a big natural gas
project. Halliburton said it did noth
ing wrong in the accounting switch
and sales to Iran. The company has
hired outside counsel to look into the
allegations about Nigeria.
Halliburton inherited the Nigerian
project in 1998 when it merged with
Dresser Industries. Only one of the
payments under scrutiny took place
on Cheney's watch.
Four other investigations for bribes,
kickbacks and overcharges involve in
cidents that took place after Cheney
left the company. Most involve Hal
liburton contracts supporting the U.S.
military and rebuilding Iraq.
Halliburton warned in an SEC fil
ing it's received so much attention be
cause of its past association with Ch
eney. Neither company officials nor
Cheney's office responded Thursday
to requests for comment.
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Democratic presidential candidates
have been hammering the company.
"Halliburton is guilty of shameful
war-profiteering, and they need to be
held accountable," Massachusetts
Sen. John Kerry said in December.
The Army Corps of Engineers said
Halliburton paid a fair price for the
Kuwaiti gasoline, but the Defense
Contract Audit Agency referred the
matter to the Pentagon's inspector
general and asked for a criminal in
vestigation.
On Jan. 23, Halliburton reported it
was returning $6.3 million to the De
fense Department after discovering
overcharges by a Kuwaiti subcontrac
tor, some of which made its way back
to Halliburton employees.
This week, The Wall Street Journal
reported the Pentagon was investigat
ing Halliburton over millions of dol
lars in food service charges billed by a
Saudi subcontractor for meals no
body ate. The Pentagon said Tuesday
that Halliburton reimbursed the gov
ernment for overcharges.
Pentagon comptroller Dov Za
kheim was sympathetic in describing
Halliburton's problems Wednesday
before the Senate Armed Services
Committee, saying auditors were
finding the problems centered on
Halliburton's subcontractors.
(c) 2004, The Dallas Morning News.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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