MANCHESTER, N.H. —  Howard Dean (search) unleashed a new line of attack Wednesday by hinting at Republican corporate conspiracies to steal elections.

Dean took a shot at the GOP, telling New Hampshire voters about his fear that new high-tech voting machines will be programmed to steal ballots from Democrats.

The former Vermont governor warned that the head of Diebold (search), which makes electronic voting machines, may rig his equipment so that ballots from Democratic voters are not counted.

"Whether you can program a chip or not is up for debate. I think you probably can and have a vote for Al Gore count as a vote for Pat Buchanan," said Dean, who says he'd like every electronic vote counter to leave a paper trail.

Some Democrats have charged that Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell (search) is not to be trusted because he's been a Republican financial supporter.