Diebold: A New Beginning (to the First Step in E-Voting Terror)
Though it tried for more than a year, Diebold has been unable to sell off the electronic-voting subsidiary that is transforming its brand into a synonym for flawed electronic-voting systems. And so the company is doing the next best thing–renaming it.
“Diebold and its financial consultants have been actively engaged with a number of strategic companies and private investors with the intent to divest the Diebold Election Systems subsidiary,” the company said in a pair of press releases. “These efforts to sell this company, however, have proven unsuccessful due in part to the rapidly evolving political uncertainties and controversies surrounding state and jurisdiction purchases of electronic-voting systems. Given this changing business environment and the recent downturn in the capital markets, Diebold has postponed its efforts to divest the company and instead is realigning the election-systems subsidiary to allow it to operate as a more independent entity. … Diebold Elections Systems is changing its name to Premier Election Solutions. The change to Premier signifies a new beginning for the company.”
A new beginning? For the company that designed its widely criticized electronic-voting machines to be opened with a hotel minibar key? Perhaps in the same way that the donning of a wig and novelty Groucho glasses signifies a new beginning for the amateur comedian.