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{{EP issue article header}}'''Diebold Election Systems''' (ref. parent [[Diebold Inc.]]) is a provider of "direct recording electronic (DRE) voting solutions" <ref>http://diebold.com/dieboldes/</ref>, or [[voting machine]]s. In August 2007, the Diebold subsidiary's name was changed to '''[[Premier Election Solutions]]'''. <ref>http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070816/FREE/70816004/1088&Profile=1088</ref>

Following a year-long failed attempt to sell its e-voting subsidiary, the parent company renamed the subsidiary Premier Election Solutions. While still Diebold-owned, PES "will have its own management team and board of directors," and is based in Allen, Texas, while Diebold headquarters are in Ohio, reported ''O'Dwyer's PR Daily''. The PR firm [[Edelman]] "is handling the recasting of Diebold Election Systems to [[Premier Election Solutions]]," reported ''O'Dwyer's''.<ref>http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0817edelman_diebold.html</ref>

"Wally O'Dell, CEO of Diebold Inc., this week [27 August 2003] sent out letters to central Ohio Republicans asking them to raise $10,000 in donations in time for a Sept. 26 Ohio Republican Party event at his home. ... [Ohio State of Ohio]House Minority Leader Chris Redfern, D-Catawba Island, ... and Senate Minority Leader Greg DiDonato, D-New Philadelphia, on Tuesday ... petitioned Secretary of State [[Ken Blackwell]] to drop O'Dell's company from the list of potential suppliers [of new electronic voting machines], saying his presence could undermine Ohio's entire election system." <ref> http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/news/stories/20030827/localnews/140871.html</ref>

:<u>Note</u>: According to the AP (August 29, 2003), the letter was actually dated <ref>http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/business/6646063.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp 14 August 2003</ref>, more than two weeks prior to news stories about it. This is supported by an August 28, 2003 <ref> http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'' news story</ref>news story.

On October 10, 2003, electronic voting company Diebold, Inc., sent a cease-and-desist letter to the nonprofit [[Online Policy Group]] (OPG) ISP demanding that OPG remove a page of links published on an Independent Media Center (IndyMedia) website located on a computer server hosted by OPG.

Diebold sent out dozens of similar notices to ISPs hosting [[IndyMedia]] and other websites linking to or publishing copies of [[Diebold internal memo]]s. OPG is was the only ISP so far to resist the takedown demand from Diebold. <ref> http://www.eff.org/Legal/ISP_liability/20031016_eff_pr.php</ref>

On October 16, 2003, the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] announced that it will would defend the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and news website publisher against claims of indirect copyright infringement from the electronic voting machines' manufacturer. <ref>ibid</ref>

On October 21, 2003, Defending defending the right of a fair, democratic election, ''Why War? '' <ref> http://why-war.com/features/2003/10/diebold.html </ref> and the Swarthmore Coalition for the Digital Commons (SCDC) <ref>http://scdc.sccs.swarthmore.edu/ </ref> announced that they are rejecting would reject Diebold Elections Systems' s cease and desist orders and are initiating initiated a legal electronic civil disobedience campaign that will to ensure permanent public access to the controversial leaked memos. Thus, through active, legal electronic civil disobedience, Why War? and SCDC will bring to light the usually silent acts of suppression and censorship. The result will be a '''permanent and public mirror'''<ref>http://cultcom.com/mirror.html</ref> of the memos: documents whose public existence challenges the assumed presence of democracy in America. <ref>http://why-war.com/features/diebold_pr.txt</ref>

"Diebold Election Systems (DES) has hired [[Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide|Ogilvy PR]] to burnish the company's image and the benefits of electronic voting in California," ''PR Week'' reported in August 2005.<ref>http://prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=240402&site=3</ref> The state had decertified one of DES' e-voting machines the previous year <ref> httphttps://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2004Q2/history.html</ref>, and the company wanted to ensure that [[E-voting PR|their "story is told"]] and that voters "understand the technology," said Ogilvy's [[Michael Law]], who heads DES' California work. According to ''PR Week'', Ogilvy was researching public perceptions of DES, with an eye to developing messages "about the ease of electronic voting, particularly for voters who do not speak English, as well as for handicapped voters."

The same month, ''O'Dwyer's PR Daily'' reported that DES' California PR is part of a national campaign headed by former [[Democratic National Committee]] chair [[Joseph J. Andrew]]. Andrew has been praised for his "grassroots organizing" and "golden rolodex" of CEOs and labor leaders, according to ''O'Dwyer's''. [<ref>http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0822ogilvy_diebold.htm]</ref>

DES has worked with numerous other PR firms and consultants to burnish its public image nationally and in various regions of the country. These include [[Public Strategies, Inc.]] and the [[Compliance Research Group]]. [<ref>http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0822ogilvy_diebold.htm] [</ref> <ref>http://prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=240402&site=3] </ref> See the SourceWatch articles on the firms, as well as [[A Short but Tragic History of E-voting Public Relations]] and [[e-voting PR]] for more information.

*[httphttps://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Electronic_voting Electronic voting Index of articles]