Debra Bowen, who many of us pulled for, pitched in for and cheered on for Secretary of State in California, is doing what she said she would do: auditing the many voting machines already certified for use in elections. The news is not good.

State-sanctioned teams of computer hackers were able to break through the security of virtually every model of California’s voting machines and change results or take control of some of the systems’ electronic functions, according to a University of California study released Friday.

The researchers “were able to bypass physical and software security in every machine they tested,” said Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who authorized the “top to bottom review” of every voting system certified by the state.

Machines Cracked

Now it’s true that the hackers had all the manufacturer’s manuals as well as source code, causing defenders of the machines to cry foul. Though, gee whiz folks, if you wanted to turn an election wouldn’t you go get the tools necessary? I somehow doubt, even with source code, it would be so easy to hack the ATM machines we all depend on…

Bowen apparently has until Friday to make a decision about certify / decertify.. A day long hearing takes place in Sacramento on Monday….