Why Is This Still An Issue?

You would have thought that after all the news and hard evidence in the last few elections that the integrity of our electoral system would be a prority. Yet the recent court decision in Florida allowed a election where 18,000 votes were somehow lost to stand because an investigation of the software of the computer voting machines would compromise "professional secrets" of the Technology company.
The electoral commissions always tout that the machines have been certified by testing labs, but who over sees these labs? The government certifies these labs, but last week there was the disturbing news that the leading lab was unable to meet the governments standards.
The company, Ciber, Inc. is unable to meet the testing standards that will go into effect later this year. The Electtions Assistance Agency which oversees this process is unwilling to say what the problems are and Ciber, Inc. refuses to comment and answer any calls.
Many States are using machines that were certified by Ciber. Were those certifications done properly? Did the problems Ciber is experiencing now exist then? No one is saying.
This has always been a flawed process. The companies that manufacture the machines pay for the lab certifications. This is certainly a conflict of interests! If a lab finds too many problems with the machines, it risks losing the company as a client.
There is little transparency. The labs which see themselves as working for a client, do not tell the public when they find problems or what the problems are.
The labs should be responsible to one client only, us! The public, the voters!
The companies should continue to pay the costs, but to the government who would hire and pay the testing labs.
The testing has to become more transparent. We should know how the testing is done ands have access to the results. If a lab falls short of the requirements, we should know about it!
Now, the entire process is covered by a shroud of secrecy. That's good for the voting machine companies and the labs. The government should not be protecting these interests! We have to make it clear that our interests, the integrity of out votes are more important. We have to protect our right to honest clean elections!