Tough screeing of voting machines

California's secretary of state on Friday placed rigorous security conditions on voting equipment used in dozens of counties and limited the use of two of the most widely used machines. Associated Press in the Daily News.

The most affected counties will have to scramble to find alternate equipment just six months before California holds its presidential primary.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen had set Friday as the deadline to tell counties whether their voting equipment would be decertified because of California's accelerated election schedule next year. She had to alert them six months before the Feb. 5 presidential primary and made her announcement just minutes before midnight.