But details about the suit are sketchy because of secrecy rules surrounding whistleblower litigation, according to Matt Schultz, an attorney at Levin, Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Echsner & Proctor PA, the Pensacola, Fla., law firm that is handling the case. Schultz was assigned to the suit, but the lead attorneys are Mike Papantonio and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy, son of the late New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, gained attention with a recent story he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine in which he questioned the outcome of the 2004 presidential election. The whistleblower lawsuit is not related to the allegations in Kennedy's analysis.

The lawsuit was filed approximately four weeks ago, but Schultz was unable to divulge in which federal district the filing took place. Nor could he discuss which e-voting machine vendor is targeted because the document is currently under seal.

According to Schultz, insiders at one of the four major e-voting vendors in the U.S. have testified to misrepresentations by the unnamed company about the accuracy, reliability and security of the direct recording electronic (DRE) devices. DRE usually signifies a touch-screen voting system.

The lawsuit is not related to any particular election outcome. "This is about faulty machines being fobbed off on the government and being bought with federal money under the Help America Vote Act [HAVA]," Schultz said. Among its other mandates, HAVA stipulated that by last January every election precinct in the country had to have an e-voting system that allowed handicapped voters to cast ballots unaided.