Daily Voting News For December 22, 2006
Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org
The huge news for today is the announcement that Smartmatic has decided to sell Sequoia Voting Systems. They claim it is
because of the 'public debate' over foreign ownership of a company that is involved in our elections. I suspect that
Smartmatic didn't like the idea that the Feds were looking into the sale and reports of bribery in Venezuela. There is
certainly something suspicious about ownership of Sequoia. Smartmatic bought the company in 2005 for $16M from DeLaRue,
a British company. That's $16M for a company that had well over $200M in sales in the past couple years. Either DeLaRue
has terrible business acumen, which they don't, or there was something fishy about the deal right from the start. / In
"E-voting Upgrades America’s Ballot Box" the author, a fellow at the biased, agenda-driven Pacific Research Institute,
uses no facts in his article in favor of paperless voting. The problem is that some; not many but some; will read his
drivel and actually believe what he says. ...
National: E-voting Upgrades America’s Ballot Box LINK
National: Cook County's voting machine supplier for sale LINK
National: Sale ends machine flap LINK
National: Parent firm plans to sell Sequoia Voting Systems
Venezuela parent cites controversy in plan to sell voting equipment firm that supplies about a third of California's
counties LINK
National: Venezuelan-owned voting machine company to sell U.S. subsidiary LINK
National: Smartmatic Announces It Will Sell Sequoia Voting Systems, Withdraw from CFIUS Review LINK
National: Sale Of Voting Machine Firm With Venezuelan Links Will Avoid U.S. Probe LINK
National: Cfius probe blamed for sale of voting-machine company LINK
Florida: Florida Voters To Next Congress: This Time, Let Us Finish Tallying the Vote LINK
Florida: FL-13 - Audit heads into its final phase LINK
Florida: Sarasota County - Voting machine chips check out LINK
Florida: Sarasota County - Advocates are left off panel to study voting LINK
Florida: Sarasota County - Touch-screen questions may lead lawmakers to look at voting anew LINK
Georgia: Voter paper trail not an easy path LINK
Georgia: Opinion - Georgia's electronic vote secure LINK
Georgia: Panel: Paper trail no guarantee of accurate vote count LINK
Georgia: Another $75 Million to Diebold? LINK
Georgia: Bibb County Vote Experiment Shows Little Promise LINK
Pennsylvania: Westmoreland County - County elections bureau eyes hiring guru LINK
Texas: Waller County - State probing Waller County election
The AG's office impounds records amid claims rights of black voters were violated LINK
**"Daily Voting News" is meant as a comprehensive listing of reports each day concerning issues related to election and
voting news around the country regardless of quality or political slant. Therefore, items listed in "Daily Voting News"
may not reflect the opinions of VotersUnite.Org or Scoop.**
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Daily Voting News For December 23, 2006
Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org
VotersUnite would like to extend our best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Prosperous and
DRE-less New Years. Depending on the amount of Voting News tomorrow and Monday this may be the final DVN until after
Christmas. / The revolving door is getting a work-out in Georgia. Going out on one side is Deputy SoS Kathy Rogers who
was directly in charge of the state's voting systems amongst other duties. She also held a position on the Election
Assistance Commission Standards Board. She is now an employee of Diebold. A fact that should call into question all
decisions and statements made by Ms. Rogers over the last year or more. Coming in on the other side of the door is Rob
Timms who is taking Ms. Rogers' job. Timms, until now, has been a political 'hack' working for various Republican office
holders in the state of Georgia and most recently has been working for the lobby firm that has Diebold as its number one
client in Georgia. Timms has no elections experience and has a BA in Government....
National: U.S. Drops Inquiry of Voting Machine Firm
Venezuelan Parent Company, With Possible Ties to Chavez Government, Agrees to Sell LINK
National: Suspicions aroused by voting machine problems LINK
Florida: Touch-screen voting hasn't erased worries LINK
Florida: FL-13 - Pelosi gives Jennings some hope
The new Congress is seated in 12 days LINK
Florida: VIDEO - Christine Jennings Discusses FL-13th With Kitty Pilgrim LINK
Florida: Sarasota County - Team of Computer Scientists To Review ES iVotronic Source Code LINK
Florida: Sarasota County - Filings made in machine code issue LINK
Georgia: Voting machine firm hires ex-elections director LINK
Georgia: Diebold Moves into the Georgia SoS Office LINK
Indiana: Lugar loses two votes, hangs on by more than 1 million
ELECTION RECOUNT: Libertarian says partial recount points to voting flaws LINK
Kansas: Sedgwick County - Challenger won't have to pay for recount LINK
Kansas: Sedgwick County - Judge says Democrat doesn't have to pay for recount in House race LINK
New York: Voting machine resistance
Nassau and Suffolk take aim at state's deadline to replace lever machines by September primaries LINK
New York: Saratoga County - County to fix old voting machines LINK
Ohio: Elections officials say 81 percent of provisional ballots valid LINK
**"Daily Voting News" is meant as a comprehensive listing of reports each day concerning issues related to election and
voting news around the country regardless of quality or political slant. Therefore, items listed in "Daily Voting News"
may not reflect the opinions of VotersUnite.Org or Scoop.**
*************
John Gideon
Executive Director www.votersunite.org and
Member www.votetrustusa.org