SMARTMATIC-SEQUOIA VOTING LOSES CONTRACT DUE TO VENEZUELA TIES?
Waukesha County split on voting firm
Equipment vendor owned by citizen of Venezuela
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=422768
By SCOTT WILLIAMS
swilliams@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 11, 2006
Elections in Waukesha County could become more cumbersome and costly because of disagreement emerging from a $600,000 effort to make voting easier for people with disabilities, officials have suggested.
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The fear is based partly on concerns among some local officials that an equipment vendor, approved by the state and recommended by the county clerk, is owned by an individual from Venezuela.
Officials in Menomonee Falls and Mukwonago are among those considering breaking ranks with the rest of the county to steer clear of products made by Sequoia Voting Systems, based in Oakland, Calif. Sequoia spokeswoman Michelle Shafer said the firm's parent company, Smartmatic Corp., is owned by a citizen of Venezuela, a South American nation whose leftist president is allied with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Shafer said the Venezuelan government, led by controversial President Hugo Chavez, has no role in the company, but the ownership question has dogged the company elsewhere in recent months.
"We've addressed these questions before," she said. "There's a lot of misinformation."
Wisconsin state election officials say Sequoia passed rigorous federal screening before being certified by the state as one of four vendors qualified to supply new equipment for voters with disabilities. Under federal law, the technology offering touch-screen ballots and other options must be available in all polling places by September.
Mukwonago Village President James Wagner called it "an oxymoron" to purchase equipment for democratic elections from a company associated with a communist-leaning country.
"That just kind of seems a little strange," Wagner said.
Mukwonago village trustees will consider the issue soon, after a recent decision in Menomonee Falls to authorize purchase of voting machines from a Sequoia competitor. Menomonee Falls Trustee Jim Jeskewitz said concerns about the vendor's Venezuelan ownership were raised by the village clerk, along with other questions about Sequoia's track record and costs.
"It just doesn't seem to fit," Jeskewitz said.
Other vendors certified by the state include Election Systems & Software of Omaha, Neb., Diebold Election Systems of Allen, Texas, and Vote-PAD Inc. of Port Ludlow, Wash.
Each municipality is getting federal funding to equip polling places for disabled voters. Under the Help America Vote Act, the funding is equal to $6,000 per polling place, which totals $600,000 in Waukesha County.
Kyle Richmond, spokesman for the State Elections Board, said the state would not get involved in "political questions" about Sequoia, noting that officials have heard some concerns from within Waukesha County.
Richmond said state officials believe an individual county will function best if all municipalities purchase the same type of machines.
Administering elections could become difficult and expensive if different technologies are in place, he said.
Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus said her office called together municipal clerks to examine and discuss the different technologies.
Out of 35 cities, towns and villages in the county, 29 agreed to go with Sequoia, she said.
"We could stay as one," she said. "That was the whole intent."
Equipment vendor owned by citizen of Venezuela
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=422768
By SCOTT WILLIAMS
swilliams@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 11, 2006
Elections in Waukesha County could become more cumbersome and costly because of disagreement emerging from a $600,000 effort to make voting easier for people with disabilities, officials have suggested.
Advertisement
The fear is based partly on concerns among some local officials that an equipment vendor, approved by the state and recommended by the county clerk, is owned by an individual from Venezuela.
Officials in Menomonee Falls and Mukwonago are among those considering breaking ranks with the rest of the county to steer clear of products made by Sequoia Voting Systems, based in Oakland, Calif. Sequoia spokeswoman Michelle Shafer said the firm's parent company, Smartmatic Corp., is owned by a citizen of Venezuela, a South American nation whose leftist president is allied with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Shafer said the Venezuelan government, led by controversial President Hugo Chavez, has no role in the company, but the ownership question has dogged the company elsewhere in recent months.
"We've addressed these questions before," she said. "There's a lot of misinformation."
Wisconsin state election officials say Sequoia passed rigorous federal screening before being certified by the state as one of four vendors qualified to supply new equipment for voters with disabilities. Under federal law, the technology offering touch-screen ballots and other options must be available in all polling places by September.
Mukwonago Village President James Wagner called it "an oxymoron" to purchase equipment for democratic elections from a company associated with a communist-leaning country.
"That just kind of seems a little strange," Wagner said.
Mukwonago village trustees will consider the issue soon, after a recent decision in Menomonee Falls to authorize purchase of voting machines from a Sequoia competitor. Menomonee Falls Trustee Jim Jeskewitz said concerns about the vendor's Venezuelan ownership were raised by the village clerk, along with other questions about Sequoia's track record and costs.
"It just doesn't seem to fit," Jeskewitz said.
Other vendors certified by the state include Election Systems & Software of Omaha, Neb., Diebold Election Systems of Allen, Texas, and Vote-PAD Inc. of Port Ludlow, Wash.
Each municipality is getting federal funding to equip polling places for disabled voters. Under the Help America Vote Act, the funding is equal to $6,000 per polling place, which totals $600,000 in Waukesha County.
Kyle Richmond, spokesman for the State Elections Board, said the state would not get involved in "political questions" about Sequoia, noting that officials have heard some concerns from within Waukesha County.
Richmond said state officials believe an individual county will function best if all municipalities purchase the same type of machines.
Administering elections could become difficult and expensive if different technologies are in place, he said.
Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus said her office called together municipal clerks to examine and discuss the different technologies.
Out of 35 cities, towns and villages in the county, 29 agreed to go with Sequoia, she said.
"We could stay as one," she said. "That was the whole intent."
posted by ConcernedVoter06 at 12:03 AM
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