Daily Voting News For December 22-23, 2006

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
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• 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.**

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&S 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

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