Date: June 12, 2008 Contact: John Bonifaz, (413) 253-2700

SEQUOIA VOTING SYSTEMS, INC. USES VOTE-COUNTING SOFTWARE 

DEVELOPED, OWNED, AND LICENSED BY FOREIGN-OWNED 

SMARTMATIC, A COMPANY LINKED TO THE 

VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT OF HUGO CHÁVEZ

U.S. national security is potentially at risk because software used to count 

votes in 20% of the country during U.S. elections is owned and controlled by a 

Venezuelan-run company with ties to the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez,1

which has been described as “the foremost meddler in foreign elections in the Western 

hemisphere.”2Foreign-owned and foreign-run Smartmatic’s control over votecounting software used in the voting machines of Sequoia Voting Systems, Inc. 

(“Sequoia” or “SVS”) presents a potential national security risk now just as it did in 

2006 when the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) 

opened an investigation of Smartmatic’s ownership of Sequoia.3 CFIUS is a U.S. 

government inter-agency committee led by the U.S. Department of Treasury that 

addresses national security risks posed by foreign ownership of or influence over U.S. 

business, including companies providing the means by which voters in the U.S. elect 

their President and Congressional Representatives.4 Rather than answer to CFIUS 

1 Richard Brand, Why is Hugo Chávez Involved with U.S. Voting Machines?, REAL CLEAR POLITICS, 

Mar. 28, 2006, 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/03/forget_dubai_worry_about_smart.html; Brad 

Friedman, Voting Machine Company Chief Lied to Chicago Officials About Ownership, Control of 

Company, (May 21, 2008), http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6005&print=1;

2 Richard Brand, Hugo Wants Your Vote, INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY, Apr. 6, 2006, available at

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=155832&secur

e=2496.

3

In 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported that Smartmatic “would sell its U.S. subsidiary [Sequoia] to 

end a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. into whether Smartmatic is partially 

owned by the Venezuelan government.” Bob Davis, Smartmatic to Shed U.S. Unit, End Probe Into 

Venezuelan Links, WALL ST. J., Dec. 22, 2006, at A6, article available for purchase at 

http://www.wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal also reported a Department of Justice investigation into 

whether Smartmatic had engaged in bribery or tax fraud. Id. see also Bob Davis and Glenn Simpson, 

U.S. Authorities Probe How Smartmatic Won Venezuela Election Pact, WALL ST. J., Dec. 1, 2006, at 

A9, article available for purchase at http://www.wsj.com (“The company says it paid $1.5 million to a 

Venezuelan consultant who is close to the Chavez government and helped to win Smartmatic business. 

The allegation being investigated is that Smartmatic actually paid as much as $4 million to the 

consultant, then deleted a substantial portion of those payments from its corporate records to hide the 

extent of its payments to a friend of the Chavez regime.”).

4

50 U.S.C. App. § 2170(a) available at http://uscode.house.gov/uscodecgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t49t50+2932+1++%28%29%20%20AND%20%28%2850%29%20A

DJ%20USC%29%3ACITE%20AND%20%28USC%20w%2F10%20%282170%29%29%3ACITE%20

%20%20%20%20%20%20%20AND%20%28APPENDIX%29%3AEXPCITE%20; 31 C.F.R. § 800, 

App. A available at http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-
2

regarding the ultimate owners of the Smartmatic conglomerate5and its ties to the 

Chávez government, an investment group led by Sequoia management reportedly 

bought Sequoia from Smartmatic in late 2007 under terms that were not made public.6

Since then, however, it has come to light that Smartmatic continues to own the 

software that counts the votes on Sequoia voting machines and licenses to Sequoia that 

software, which Smartmatic develops in Venezuela.7 Concern, now, is that 

Smartmatic’s sale of Sequoia “was fraudulent”,8“a sham transaction designed to fool 

regulators.”9

Efforts to date have not succeeded in determining the ultimate owners of 

Smartmatic or the extent to which Smartmatic and the Chávez government of 

Venezuela have influence over U.S. elections through Smartmatic’s control of the 

software that counts votes for Sequoia voting machines. Sequoia steadfastly maintains 

that the 2007 Sequoia management buy-out “completely eliminates Smartmatic’s 

ownership, control and operational rights of any kind in Sequoia”10 when 

idx?c=ecfr&sid=cd91543f2cfccfc56d8f4c187217c3d8&rgn=div9&view=text&node=31:3.1.4.1.1.7.1.3.

11&idno=31; see also Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-49, 121 

Stat. 246 (amending CFIUS law) available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgibin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ049.110 and 73 Fed. Reg. 21861-21880 

(Apr. 23, 2008) (proposed regulations the final version of which is to be codified at 31 C.F.R. pt. 800) 

may be accessed at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/retrieve.html.

5

Smartmatic Corporation, is a U.S. unit of Smartmatic International Holding, B.V., a Netherlandsbased business, which itself is a unit of Smartmatic International Group, N.V., Curaçao. Marc Lifsher, 

Ballot Firm’s Ties to Venezuela Criticized; Some American officials worry that Sequoia Voting 

Systems’ foreign link could compromise the integrity of the U.S. election process, L.A. TIMES, Jun. 3, 

2006, at C1, available at http://earc.berkeley.edu/news/2006/June/BallotFirmsTies.php. 

6

Press Release, Sequoia Voting Systems, U.S. Voting Technology Leader Sequoia Voting Systems 

Announces New Corporate Ownership (Nov. 8, 2007), http://www.sequoiavote.com/press.php?ID=41. 

(While the terms of the sale are not public, the Sequoia press release states that the sale transaction 

includes a loan and an earn-out from Smartmatic.); Brad Friedman, Smartmatic Co-Founder, Employee, 

and Shareholder Dead After Both Engines on Small Plane Reportedly Failed Just After Takeoff (May 2, 

2008), http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5947 (describing $2 million loan to Sequoia from Smartmatic). 

7 Letter Opinion of Apr. 4, 2008, Smartmatic Corp. v. SVS Holdings, Inc. and Sequoia Voting Systems, 

Inc.; and SVS Holdings, Inc. and Sequoia Voting Systems, Inc. v. Smartmatic Corp. and Hart 

InterCivic, Inc., Civil Action No. 3585-VCL, pages 13-14, available at 

http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SVSSequoia_v_Hart_Smartmatic_LambDecision_040408.pdf. While 

about ten Smartmatic employees work in the company’s Boca Raton, Florida, office, the vast majority 

of its employees, indeed more than a hundred of them, work in Venezuela, including members of 

Smartmatic’s computer design and research and development staff. See Dun & Bradstreet Report on 

Smartmatic (2008), report available for purchase at http://www.dnb.com/us/. 

8 Gerardo Reyes, Vote machine firm ties to Venezuela questioned; A Chicago Alderman is not satisfied 

that a voting-systems company is free of influence from Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, MIAMI 

HERALD, Mar. 19, 2008, at 3 (article available for purchase at http://www.miamiherald.com).

9 Letter from Edward M. Burke, Chairman of the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance to 

Langdon D. Neal, Chairman, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners (Jan. 11, 2008), available at

http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SequoiaSmartmaticLetter_Chicago_EdBurkeToLangdonNeal_011108.

pdf. 

10 See Brad Friedman, Voting Machine Company Chief Lied to Chicago Officials About Ownership, 

Control of Company, (May 21, 2008), http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6005&print=1; Press Release, 

Sequoia Voting Systems, U.S. Voting Technology Leader Sequoia Voting Systems Announces New 

Corporate Ownership (Nov. 8, 2007) available at http://www.sequoiavote.com/press.php?ID=41.
3

· a court decision in April 2008 reported that Smartmatic owns and 

licenses to Sequoia the vote-counting software used in Sequoia voting 

machines;

· Sequoia owes Smartmatic $2 million in a loan/earn-out that is part of

the 2007 management buy-out;

· Smartmatic seeks through a proposed purchase of the Sequoia 

loan/earn-out by Hart InterCivic to control the world market for 

Sequoia voting machines in exchange for licensing Smartmatic’s votecounting software to Hart, an arrangement which Sequoia claims 

would violate agreements made with CFIUS and other federal 

government agencies.

I. City Council of Chicago Efforts to Understand the Influence of 

Smartmatic and the Venezuelan Government over U.S. Elections

In January 2008, representatives of Chicago, Illinois, which suffered from 

malfunctions in Smartmatic-developed software that delayed by a week the tabulation 

of the vote in the 2006 mid-term federal primary and that led to 15 or more 

Smartmatic agents coming from Venezuela to Chicago to help the city complete vote 

tabulation, wrote to Sequoia President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) Jack 

Blaine for information in an effort to confirm that “Smartmatic and the government of 

Venezuela have no ability to influence or control the new owners of Sequoia.”11

Sequoia’s letter response dated January 18, 2008 has been described in the media as 

“deceptive,” “knowingly false,” and a continuation of “evasive” and “troublesome” 

sworn testimony provided in 2006 by Jack Blaine, then-President of both Sequoia and 

Smartmatic Corporation.12

In April 2006, the City Council of Chicago held hearings after election results 

were delayed a week due to problems using Smartmatic’s Hybrid Activator 

Accumulator Transmitter (“HAAT”) software to count the March 21, 2006 primary 

vote.13 Fifteen or so Smartmatic personnel, including Smartmatic senior executive and 

11 See Letter from Edward M. Burke, Chairman of the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance to 

Langdon D. Neal, Chairman, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners (Jan. 11, 2008), available at

http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SequoiaSmartmaticLetter_Chicago_EdBurkeToLangdonNeal_011108.

pdf.

12 See Brad Friedman, Voting Machine Company Chief Lied to Chicago Officials About Ownership, 

Control of Company, (May 21, 2008), http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6005&print=1.

13 See, e.g., Fran Spielman, Aldermen: Halt payments to voting machine company, CHICAGO SUNTIMES, Mar. 28, 2006, at 12, article available for purchase at

http://www.suntimes.com/search/index.html; Jerome L. Sherman, Chicago Voting Machines Stumble, 

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, Mar. 28, 2006, at A-1, article available for purchase at

http://www.lexis.com; Hearing Transcript of Joint Committee on Finance, Committee on Budget and 

Government Operations and Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics (“Joint Committee”), City 

Council of Chicago, Apr. 7, 2006, at 104-05 (bottom page) (*Excerpts of this transcript are available at 

________.) Also in 2006, Cook County, Illinois, had problems with the software used to count votes in 

Sequoia voting machines in their 2006 primary and general elections. A Cook County report by retired 

federal Judge Abner Mikva concluded that “[t]echnology failures in multiple areas” was a “primary 
4

shareholder, Roger Pinate, flew in from Venezuela to staff a behind-the-scenes war 

room at the City of Chicago’s election headquarters where votes from all over the city 

were being counted.14 Jack Blaine also then professed not to know who ultimately 

owned Smartmatic and confirmed that Venezuelans working for Smartmatic have 

access to the Sequoia voting machine software, including the source code.15

In 2008, Alderman Edward Burke, who chaired Chicago’s 2006 investigation 

into the national security threat posed by Smartmatic’s access to voting systems 

software used to count votes in U.S. elections, raised concern that Smartmatic’s 2007 

sale of Sequoia was “a sham.”16 In a letter dated January 11, 2008, to the Chicago 

Board of Elections Chairman Langdon D. Neal, Alderman Burke is reported to have 

“expressed surprise” that Jack Blaine testified under oath in the 2006 Chicago 

hearings that “software components from the Sequoia system, [sic] were developed in 

Venezuela [including the critical component of the Sequoia systems – the HAAT] and 

that ‘the Venezuelans have access to the Sequoia code.’”17 Burke reiterated his dismay 

that Jack Blaine furthermore admitted that he could not answer whether or not Hugo 

Chávez was a Smartmatic shareholder.18 “The entire Smartmatic episode has served 

as a reminder of how important it is to know and trust who is counting the votes in our 

elections and to protect the integrity of our elections,” wrote Burke in his January 11, 

cause” of the delayed vote-tabulation in the 2006 general election and that there exist flaws with 

Sequoia’s software and design. COOK COUNTY CLERK’S ELECTION REVIEW PANEL, REPORT ON

DELAYS IN ELECTION RESULTS REPORTING IN THE NOV. 7TH, 2006 ELECTION, at 4-5, 12, 17, Jan. 8, 

2007 (*A copy of this document is located at ________.)

14 See, Letter from Edward M. Burke, Chairman of the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance to 

Langdon D. Neal, Chairman, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners (Jan. 11, 2008), available at

http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SequoiaSmartmaticLetter_Chicago_EdBurkeToLangdonNeal_011108.

pdf.and COOK COUNTY CLERK’S ELECTION REVIEW PANEL, REPORT ON DELAYS IN ELECTION

RESULTS REPORTING IN THE NOV. 7TH, 2006 ELECTION, at 18-20, Jan. 8, 2007 (*A copy of this 

document is located at ________.) .

15 See Hearing Transcript of Joint Committee on Finance, Committee on Budget and Government 

Operations and Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics (“Joint Committee”), City Council of 

Chicago, Apr. 7, 2006, at 16, 18-20, 71-73, and 104-106. (bottom page) (*Excerpts of the transcript are 

available at ________.) , and Letter from Jack Blaine, President of Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. and 

Smartmatic Corporation, to the Honorable Edward Burke, William Beavers, Richard Mell, Joint 

Committee on Finance; Committee on Budget and Government Operations; Committee on Committees, 

Rules and Ethics (Apr. 12, 2006) (*A copy of this document is located at ________.) .

16 Letter from Edward M. Burke, Chairman of the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance to 

Langdon D. Neal, Chairman, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners (Jan. 11, 2008), available at

http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SequoiaSmartmaticLetter_Chicago_EdBurkeToLangdonNeal_011108.

pdf.

17 Gerardo Reyes, Vote machine firm ties to Venezuela questioned; A Chicago Alderman is not satisfied 

that a voting-systems company is free of influence from Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, MIAMI 

HERALD, Mar. 19, 2008, at 3, article available for purchase at http://www.miamiherald.com/; see also

Hearing Transcript of Joint Committee on Finance, Committee on Budget and Government Operations 

and Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics (“Joint Committee”), City Council of Chicago, Apr. 7, 

2006, at 105-06 (bottom page) (*A copy of this document is located at ________.) .

18 Id. Hearing Transcript of Joint Committee on Finance, Committee on Budget and Government 

Operations and Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics (“Joint Committee”), City Council of 

Chicago, Apr. 7, 2006, at 20-23 (*Excerpts of the transcript are available at ________.) .
5

2008 letter.19 Burke then implored Neal that “[i]t is therefore important to confirm that 

the sale of Sequoia by Smartmatic is not a sham transaction designed to fool regulators 

and to further confirm that Smartmatic and the government of Venezuela have no 

ability to influence or control the new owners of Sequoia.”20 Burke requested answers 

to ten questions probing the bona fides of Smartmatic’s sale of Sequoia to its 

management. 

By letter dated January 18, 2008 to Chairman Neal, and purporting to respond 

to each of Alderman Burke’s individual questions, Jack Blaine, Sequoia President and 

CEO, confirmed in writing that Sequoia continues to use the Venezuelan developed 

“Edge2Plus and HAAT” in the City of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois.21 Blaine 

added that “Sequoia will continue to provide products, upgrades and accessories to the 

U.S. market based on products the company developed in cooperation with 

Smartmatic during the time the company owned Sequoia.”22 What Blaine did not say 

is that the Edge2Plus and HAAT are owned by Smartmatic and licensed by 

Smartmatic to Sequoia. The implication of Blaine’s statement, which characterizes 

the software in Sequoia voting machines as having been “developed in cooperation 

with Smartmatic during the time the company owned Sequoia,” is that Smartmatic’s 

input into the software used to count votes on Sequoia voting machines is purely 

historical. In fact, Smartmatic has an ongoing role as Smartmatic - not Sequoia - owns 

this very software and continues to determine its development and application in the 

U.S. Blaine’s omission is particularly significant given that Alderman Burke in his 

January 11, 2008 letter specifically requested “any license, royalty and/or other 

intellectual property agreements between Sequoia and Smartmatic and/or their 

affiliates,” which request Blaine ignored. 23

19Letter from Edward M. Burke, Chairman of the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance to 

Langdon D. Neal, Chairman, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners (Jan. 11, 2008), available at

http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SequoiaSmartmaticLetter_Chicago_EdBurkeToLangdonNeal_011108.

pdf.

20 Id.

21 Letter from Jack A. Blaine, CEO, Sequoia Voting Systems, to Langdon Neal, Chairman, Chicago 

Board of Elections (Jan. 18, 2008) at 2, available at http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6005#more-6005.

22 Id.

23 Compare Letter from Edward M. Burke, Chairman of the Chicago City Council Committee on 

Finance to Langdon D. Neal, Chairman, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, at 4 (Jan. 11, 

2008), available at

http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SequoiaSmartmaticLetter_Chicago_EdBurkeToLangdonNeal_011108.

pdf. with Letter from Jack A. Blaine, CEO, Sequoia Voting Systems, to Langdon Neal, Chairman, 

Chicago Board of Elections (Jan. 18, 2008) at 2, available at http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6005#more6005; Brad Friedman, Voting Machine Company Chief Lied to Chicago Officials About Ownership, 

Control of Company, (May 21, 2008), http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6005&print=1;
6

II. Court Fight Between Smartmatic and Sequoia over Proposed Hart 

InterCivic Take-over of Sequoia Reveals Smartmatic Ownership of VoteCounting Software in Sequoia Voting Machines

Smartmatic’s ownership of the voting-counting software in Sequoia voting 

machines came to light in litigation over an offer by Hart InterCivic to “purchase the 

outstanding loan and earn-out provision agreement that Sequoia Voting Systems 

maintains with its former parent company,” Smartmatic.24 Counsel for Hart InterCivic 

represented in court that Smartmatic still owned the software used in Sequoia voting 

machines and would license that software to Hart InterCivic upon its take-over of 

Sequoia. According to the court, counsel for Hart InterCivic declared that “Sequoia 

currently uses [Smartmatic’s] intellectual property [currently found in Sequoia’s 

machines] pursuant to certain license agreements.”25

Furthermore, Sequoia takes the position that Smartmatic’s ownership of the 

Sequoia voting machines software, and any “indirect control” by Smartmatic over 

Sequoia is inconsistent with agreements made with the federal government. Sequoia 

points out in litigation over the Hart proposed take-over of Sequoia that “Hart 

promises not to compete with Smartmatic in Latin America, the Philippines, and 

Belgium. In return, Smartmatic promises to grant to Hart a license to use its 

intellectual property currently found in Sequoia’s machines.”26 Sequoia maintains that 

this Smartmatic-Hart agreement would “breach [Sequoia’s] agreements with the 

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and other government 

agencies. Specifically, SVS maintains that if Hart’s agreement not to compete in Latin 

America, the Philippines, and Belgium is honored, Smartmatic has exercised ‘indirect 

control’ over Sequoia in violation of agreements with the government. Similarly, SVS 

maintains that the proposal that Smartmatic have co-ownership rights in all intellectual 

property owned by Smartmatic with respect to Sequoia products certified in the United 

States compels the post-sale Sequoia to breach its agreements with the government.”27

Thus, according to Sequoia, Smartmatic currently owns the software in Sequoia voting 

machines and Smartmatic’s (1) “indirect control” over Sequoia and (2) continued 

ownership of software used to count votes in Sequoia voting machines, would violate 

Sequoia’s agreements with the federal government.

24 Press Release, Sequoia Voting Systems, Sequoia Voting Systems Responds to Questions on Future 

Ownership Direction (Apr. 13, 2008), available at http://www.sequoiavote.com/press.php?ID=56; As 

one company, Sequoia and Hart InterCivic would control almost 30% of the election industry in the 

United States. Brad Friedman, Smartmatic Co-Founder, Employee, and Shareholder Dead After Both 

Engines on Small Plane Reportedly Failed Just After Takeoff (May 2, 2008), available at 

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5947.

25Letter Opinion of Apr. 4, 2008, Smartmatic Corp. v. SVS Holdings, Inc. and Sequoia Voting Systems, 

Inc.; and SVS Holdings, Inc. and Sequoia Voting Systems, Inc. v. Smartmatic Corp. and Hart 

InterCivic, Inc., Civil Action No. 3585-VCL, pages 13-14, available at 

http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/SVSSequoia_v_Hart_Smartmatic_LambDecision_040408.pdf. 

26 Id. at pages 13-14.

27 Id. at pages 21-22.
7

III. Sequoia Voting Machine Software Is Vulnerable to Tampering

Insiders pose the greatest threat to election integrity because they have direct 

access to the voting machines on which votes are cast and counted. James Baker, III, 

a Republican, and President Jimmy Carter, as co-chairs of the National Election 

Commission, have warned of a serious risk of insider fraud whenever software-driven 

electronic voting machines are used. They say: 

[t]he greater threat to most systems comes not from external hackers, 

but from insiders who have direct access to the machines. Software can 

be modified maliciously before being installed into individual voting 

machines. There is no reason to trust insiders in the election industry 

any more than in other industries, such as gambling, where 

sophisticated insider fraud has occurred despite extraordinary measures 

to prevent it.28

Sequoia voting machine software poses serious risks of tampering. Princeton 

Professor of Computer Science, Andrew Appel, testified as an expert in litigation in 

New Jersey involving the Sequoia Advantage voting machines that “[i]t’s very easy to 

replace the software inside a computerized machine so it tells the voter it is voting for 

one candidate but really puts the vote in the wrong column,” and “You can even 

program it to do that only on election day.”29 Later this year as part of the same 

litigation, Professors Edward Felton and Andrew Appel of Princeton University will 

examine Sequoia Advantage voting machine software to determine why the voting 

machines registered ghost voters in the 2008 presidential primary election in New 

Jersey.

30

In 2007, the California Secretary of State decertified use of the Sequoia AVC 

Edge voting machines in that state. In doing so, the Secretary reported that 

independent experts found that the software in Sequoia voting machines could be 

made to “shift[] votes from one candidate to another and [the shift] was not detectable 

28 Building Confidence in U.S. Elections, Report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform 

(September 2005), at 28, available at http://www.american.edu/ia/cfer/report/report.html. Other 

national authorities agree that electronic voting machines create a serious risk of insider fraud, including 

the General Accounting Office, the non-partisan investigative arm of Congress, 

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05956.pdf; the National Academy of Science’s Committee on a 

Framework for Understanding Electronic Voting, co-chaired by former Governors Richard Celeste and 

Dick Thornburgh (the “Governors’ Report”), http://www.nap.edu/catalog.

php?record_id=11704; the National Institute for Standards and Technology (“NIST”), 

http://www.vote.nist.gov/DraftWhitePaperOnSIinVVSG2007-20061120.pdf; the Brennan Center for 

Justice, http://www.brennancenter.org/content/section/category/voting_technology; and leading 

computer security experts who, funded by the National Science Foundation, formed ACCURATE, 

http://accurate-voting.org/pubs/reports/ (the ACCURATE Report). 

29 Elizabeth Dwoskin, Judge Gives New Jersey a Week to Fix Voting Machines, N.Y. TIMES, Sept. 6, 

2007, at 3, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/nyregion/06vote.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. 

30 Diane C. Walsh, Judge Allows Review of Voting Machines With Discrepancies, THE STAR-LEDGER

(Newark, New Jersey), Apr. 26, 2008, article available for purchase at http://www.lexis.com. 
8

on the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT).”31 The California examination also 

found, among other risks, that the Sequoia voting machines 

· “[A]llow the insertion of a Trojan program via a malicious USB removable 

storage media device that could modify ballot definitions and results. . . .”32

· Are “designed to conduct Logic and Accuracy testing in a mode distinct 

from Election Day mode, which enables malicious firmware . . . to avoid 

operating in an incorrect manner while in testing mode.”33

· Contain “a shell-like scripting language in the firmware . . . that could be 

coerced into performing malicious actions, in apparent violation of 2002 

Voting System Standards . . . [and that] includes, among others, a 

command to set the protective counter of the machine . . .; a command that 

can be used to overwrite . . . the system firmware or audit trail; and a 

command to reboot the machine at will.” 34

· Permit “corrupted or malicious data injected into removable media . . . with 

potentially serious consequences including alteration of recorded votes, 

adding false results, and, under some conditions, causing damage to the 

election management system when the corrupted or malicious data is 

loaded for vote counting.”35

On December 17, 2007, Colorado decertified the Sequoia Edge II and Edge II Plus for 

security reasons, which decision was effective immediately.”36

Litigation in New Mexico after the 2004 presidential election produced an 

expert assessment of Sequoia and other brands of touch-screen voting systems which 

identified “undervotes” and “phantom votes,” in such numbers as to cast “serious 

doubt” on the 2004 presidential election result.37 In 2006, during Pennsylvania state 

certification testing, thousands of votes changed on Sequoia Advantage voting 

31 Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval – October 25, 2007 Revision for Sequoia, available 

at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vsr.htm, hyperlink to Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional 

Reapproval - October 25, 2007 Revision for Sequoia, at 4. 

32 Id. at 4.

33 Id. at 3.

34 Id. at 3.

35 Id. at 2.

36 Letter from Mike Coffman, Secretary of State to Ed Smith, Compliance Manager, Sequoia Voting 

Systems (December 17, 2007), available at http://www.elections.colorado.gov/DDefault.aspx?tid=501 

(regarding DRE: Edge II (including VeriVote; Edge Audio Unit; and Card Activator), Version Number 

5.0.31/4.3/5.0 Rev. C and Edge II Plus (including HAAT Model 50, Version Number 1.2.33) (hyperlink 

“Certification results-Sequoia-12/17/07”). The Colorado Secretary of State subsequently reversed this 

decision and conditionally certified the Sequoia Edge II and Edge II Plus systems; see Letter from Mike 

Coffman, Secretary of State to Ed Smith, Compliance Manager, Sequoia Voting Systems (February 25, 

2008), available at http://www.elections.colorado.gov/DDefault.aspx?tid=998.

37 Lopategui, et al., v. Vigil-Giron, et al., CV No. 2005 00433, 2d Jud. Dist., Bernalillo Cty., N.M., 

Affidavit of John Skelly, at ¶ ¶ 5-12 (Jan. 14, 2005) (*A copy of this document is available from the 

court.). 
9

machines, resulting in the examiner’s refusal to certify the voting machines’ 

software.38

IV. Smartmatic Ties to the Venezuelan Government of Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez has led Venezuela since February 2, 1999,39 and has been 

described as a “dictator.”40 The Washington Post has reported on “the hostile 

relationship between the Bush administration and the government of Venezuelan 

President Hugo Chavez,”41 and in a speech before the United Nations General 

Assembly, Chávez called President Bush “the devil.”42 In May 2008, Chávez and his 

senior aides, including Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister Ramón Rodríguez 

Chacín, were implicated in supplying heavy arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces 

of Columbia (“FARC”), which the U.S. has listed as a terrorist group.43 Furthermore, 

Chávez has nationalized businesses and otherwise pressured Venezuelan businesses 

and their managers to do as he says.44 Moreover, as previously noted, Chávez has 

been described as “the foremost meddler in foreign elections in the Western 

hemisphere.”45

38Tracie Mauriello, More glitches trigger halt in testing of new county voting machines, PITTSBURGH 

POST-GAZETTE, Mar. 30, 2006, available at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06089/678087-85.stm.

39 Timeline: Hugo Chavez, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6133732.stm. 

40 David Gonzalez, In Venezuela’s Capital, the 2 Faces of a Bitter Divide, N.Y. TIMES, Nov. 25, 2002, 

available at

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3D71139F936A15752C1A9649C8B63; The 

Dictator of Caracas, WALL ST. J., Dec. 5, 2005, article available for purchase at http://www.wsj.com. 

41 Pamela Constable, For Venezuela, U.S., a (Very) Little Civility, WASH. POST, Feb. 10, 2006, at A14, 

available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020902261.html. 

42 Ed Pilkington, Chavez attacks ‘devil’ Bush in fiery UN Speech, THE GUARDIAN, (London), Sept. 21, 

2006, at 18, available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/sep/21/usa.venezuela. 

43 Juan Forero, Venezuela Offered Aid to Colombian Rebels: Officials Served as Middlemen With Arms 

Dealers, Files Show, WASH. POST, May 15, 2008, at A11, available at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR2008051403785.html and Juan 

Forero, FARC Computer Files Are Authentic, Interpol Probe Finds, WASH. POST, May 16, 2006, 

available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051504153.html (both articles describing records of FARC 

commanders meeting with Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín); Brian 

Orsak, Bush administration considering sanctions against Venezuela, MONEY LAUNDERING ALERT 

(Apr. 2008) (“The Bush Administration may blacklist Venezuela as a state sponsor of terror . . . [for 

among other reasons] U.S. investigators discovered $600 billion from Venezuelan controlled accounts 

tied to terror groups blacklisted by the U.S. government [including] . . . Hizballah, Hamas and 

FARC.”), article available for purchase at 

http://www.moneylaundering.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?id=3529. 

44 See, e.g., Simon Romero, Venezuelan Leader Seizes Greater Economic Power, N.Y. TIMES, May 18, 

2008, at 14, available at

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/world/americas/18venez.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. 

45 See Richard Brand, Hugo Wants Your Vote, INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY, Apr. 6, 2006. available at

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=155832&secur

e=2496.
10

At the end of 2007, the U.S indicted several Venezuelans, including a lawyer 

who apparently has worked for Smartmatic, Moisés Maiónica, in a case that “has 

highlighted the alleged interference of the government of Venezuela's leftist President 

Hugo Chavez in the politics of neighboring countries.”46 In December 2007, a U.S. 

grand jury in Miami, Florida, charged Maiónica and two other Venezuelan men with 

crimes in connection with alleged financing by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez of 

the campaign of now-President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina.47

Maiónica pleaded guilty in January 2008 and apparently admitted to having been 

working for then Vice President of Venezuela, Jorge Rodriguez, in offering $2 million 

to an FBI informant for his silence.48 Jorge Rodriguez is reported to have stepped 

down as Vice President of Venezuela in January 2008, after Maiónica’s public 

indictment, due to his “close relationship” with Maiónica.49

The relationship between Rodriguez and Maiónica is reported to have been 

instrumental in the Smartmatic-led SBC consortium securing the contract from the 

Chávez controlled Venezuelan National Electoral Council (“CNE”) to run the 2004 

Venezuelan presidential recall election. According to a press report, “[i]n February 

2004, the Venezuelan electoral authorities selected the company Smartmatic to 

provide technology that automates the process of voting . . . The lawyer Moisés 

Maiónica would have acted as a proxy [for] Smartmatic and made all the legal and 

financial engineering with the approval of then member of the CNE and former [V]ice 

[P]resident of the Nation, Jorge Rodriguez.”50 Chávez won the 2004 presidential recall 

46 Agence France Presse, Indictment ties Caracas intelligence to Argentine funds case, Dec. 21, 2007, 

available at, http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Indictment_ties_Caracas_intelligenc_12212007.html; United 

States v. Maionica, et al., Indictment, Case Number 07-20999-CR-Lenard/Torres (Dec. 20, 2007) (*A 

copy of this document is available from the court).

47 Id.; United States v. Maionica, et al., Criminal Complaint, Case Number 07-3513-Dubé, with 

affidavit of Michael J. Lasiewicki, Special Agent with the FBI (Dec. 12, 2007) (*A copy of this 

document is available from the court.).

48 Id. United States v. Maionica, et al., Case Number 07-20999-CR-Lenard/Torres, Docket Sheet. (Plea 

Jan. 25, 2008) (*A copy of this document is available from the court). 

49 Valijero arrastró al vice de Chávez (Valijero dragged the vice Chavez), www.totalnews.com.ar/poltica/valijero-arrastr-al-vice-de-ch-vez.html (“estrecha relación”). After the CNE awarded business to 

Smartmatic, Smartmatic reportedly paid for “vice president Rodriguez[’] . . . trip to a luxury resort in 

Boca Raton.” Irina Hauser, Maionica, el bien conectado (Maionica, well connected), PAGINA/12, Mar. 

2, 2008, http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-100012-2008-03-02.html (“le pagó al ex 

vicepresidente Rodríguez un viaje a un lujoso resort de Boca Ratón”). Smartmatic’s U.S. operations are 

located in Boca Raton, Florida. Exhibit 10, supra, footnote 8. Jorge Rodriguez served as Vice 

President of Venezuela from January 2007 until January 2008. Clodovaldo Hernández, Chávez 

Designates Former Electoral Director As Vice-President, EL UNIVERSAL, Jan. 4, 2007, available at

http://english.eluniversal.com/2007/01/04/en_pol_art_04A821081.shtml; Chavez Appoints New Vice 

President, WTOP NEWS.COM, Jan. 3, 2008, available at

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=105&sid=1320452. 

50 Valijero arrastró al vice de Chávez (Valijero dragged the vice Chavez), www.totalnews.com.ar/poltica/valijero-arrastr-al-vice-de-ch-vez.html (“En febrero de 2004, las autoridades electorales 

venezolanas seleccionaron a la empresa Smartmatic para suministrar la tecnología que automatizara los 

proceses de votación . . . El abogado Moisés Maiónica habría actuado como apoderado de Smartmatic y 

realizado toda la ingeniería legal y financiera con el visto bueno del entonces titular de la CNE y ex 

vicepresidente de la Nación, Jorge Rodríguez.”)
11

election amidst controversy arising in part from the difference between the election 

day voter polls favoring Chávez’ opponent and the announced election results.51

Prior to 2004, however, Smartmatic had no election experience and otherwise 

was a fledgling business.52 Reportedly critical to the SBC consortium’s award of the 

$91 million 2004 recall election contract from the Chávez-dominated CNE was a 

$150,000 plus investment by the Venezuelan government in Bizta R&D Software, 

C.A. (“Bizta R&D Software”),53 the SBC consortium member focused on voting 

machine software.54 The Venezuelan government secured this 28% stake in Bizta 

R&D Software and then Bizta R&D Software gave power to a Venezuelan 

government official and software engineer with the Venezuelan Ministry of Science 

and Technology, Omar Montilla Castillo, by making him a Bizta R&D Software 

director.55 Bizta promised to repay the Venezuelan government for its investment and 

remove the government official from its board of directors after the Miami Herald 

revealed the consortium’s ties to the Chávez government.56

The Smartmatic-led SBC consortium continues to receive substantial financial 

support from the Chávez-led Venezuelan government through contracts to run 

51 Steve Dudley and Nancy San Martin, Chavez Foes To Check The Vote Tallies, MIAMI HERALD, at 

1A, Aug. 18, 2004, article available for purchase at http://www.miamiherald.com.

52 Richard Brand and Alfonso Chardy, Venezuela Owns Stake In Ballots, MIAMI HERALD, May 28, 

2004, at 1A, article available for purchase at, http://www.miamiherald.com Alexandra Olson, Doubts 

over touchscreen tech choice for Venezuela recall, USA TODAY, Feb. 24, 2006, available at

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2004-07-12-venezuela-evote_x.htm. 

53 Minutes of the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting of the Bizta R&D Software C.A. Company (Jun.

10, 2003), Venezuela (*A copy of this document is located at ________.); Alexandra Olson, Doubts 

over touchscreen tech choice for Venezuela recall, USA TODAY, Feb. 24, 2006, available at

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2004-07-12-venezuela-evote_x.htm.

54 See, e.g., Jim Ash and John Lantigua, Venezuelan Opposition Scrutinizes Touch-Screen Voting, PALM 

BEACH POST, Jun. 19, 2004, at 16A , article available for purchase at http://www.palmbeachpost.com/. 

The third member of the SBC consortium is CANTV, a Venezuelan government sponsored television 

company. Id.

55 Minutes of the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting of the Commercial Corporation ‘Bizta R&D 

Software, C.A.’ (Dec. 15, 2003), signed and notarized by Alfredo Anzola Jaumotte and bearing the 

stamp of the Republica De Venezuela (*A copy of this document is located at ________.) Howard 

Gleckman, One Man, One Vote, One Conspiracy Theory, BUSINESS WEEK, June 5, 2006, available at

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_23/b3987042.htm?campaign_id=rss_magzn.

Hugo’s Revenge, INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY, Nov. 6, 2006, at A18, available at

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=247450590171

629&secure=1877.

56 Richard Brand, Voting-System Firm Drops Venezuela As An Investor, MIAMI HERALD, June 12, 2004, 

at 12A, article available for purchase at http://www.miamiherald.com; Richard Brand, Venezuela 

Investment In Smartmatic Was No Routine Loan, May 3, 2006, 

http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200605031734; Aleksander Boyd, Smartmatic: All 

Things Connected, http://www.vcrisis.com/print.php?content=letters/200508141135; Press Release, 

Bizta, Bizta Buys Out Foncrei Share, Venezuela State Investment Fund to be Repaid in Full, Omar 

Montilla to Leave Bizta Board of Directors (June 11, 2004) (*A copy of this document is located at 

________.) 
12

elections there.57 The closeness of Smartmatic’s relationship with the Chávez 

government is further reinforced by the response of aides close to Chávez to the 

hospitalization of a Smartmatic founder, shareholder and Chief Financial Officer, 

Alfredo José Anzola Jaumotte, after a small plane crash in late April 2008. Anzola, a 

Venezuelan software engineer, not only was a central player in Smartmatic. Anzola 

was President and part-owner of Bizta R&D Software when the Venezuelan 

government became Bizta R&D Software’s 28% owner, when the Venezuelan 

government official and software engineer, Montilla, joined the Bizta R&D Software 

board of directors, and presumably when the Venezuelan CNE awarded the SBC 

consortium the contract to run the voting systems for the 2004 election to recall Hugo 

Chávez as president of Venezuela.58 After the plane crash, the Governor of the State 

of Miranda, Diosdado Cabello Rondón, arranged for Anzola’s transfer from a local 

hospital to one in Caracas.59 Rondón is so close to the Venezuelan President Chávez 

that Rondón is reported to have taken on the duties of the presidency on a temporary 

basis during an attempted coup of Chávez in 2002.60 Chávez “aide-de-camp” Jorge 

Rodriguez, who as previously noted is a former Vice-President of Venezuela, a former 

member of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council when it awarded the SBC 

consortium the 2004 presidential recall election contract, and now is implicated in 

Venezuelan government financing of the election of the new president of neighboring 

Argentina;61 and Venezuela’s current Interior and Justice Minister, Ramón Rodríguez 

57 See Smartmatic Press Releases, Parliamentary elections in Venezuela reaffirm success of Smartmatic 

technology, Dec. 5, 2005, http://www.smartmatic.com/pressroom/article/article/parliamentaryelections-in-venezuela-reaffirm-success-of-smartmatic-technology/; 99.5% of voting centers in 

Venezuela to be automated with SAES3300, Nov. 8, 2006,

http://www.smartmatic.com/pressroom/article/article/995-of-voting-centers-in-venezuela-to-beautomated-with-saes3300/; Zero error in pre-election audit of SAES voting machines, Nov. 26, 2007, 

http://www.smartmatic.com/pressroom/article/article/zero-error-in-pre-election-audit-of-saes-votingmachines/; Smartmatic Voting System functions at full capacity during Regional Election, Nov. 1, 

2004, http://www.smartmatic.com/pressroom/article/article/smartmatic-voting-system-functions-at-fullcapacity-during-regional-election/.

58 Richard Brand, Why is Hugo Chávez Involved with U.S. Voting Machines, REAL CLEAR POLITICS, 

Mar. 28, 2006, 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/03/forget_dubai_worry_about_smart.html.; Alexandra 

Olson, Doubts over touchscreen tech choice for Venezuela recall, USA TODAY, Feb. 24, 2006, 

available at http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2004-07-12-venezuela-evote_x.htm.

59 Gerardo Reyes, Perece en un accidente aéreo fundador de firma Smartmatic (Perished in a plane 

crash founder of signing Smartmatic), EL NUEVO HERALD, Apr. 30, 2008, at A4, article available for 

purchase at http://www.elnuevoherad.com; States of Venezuela since 1990, 

http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Venezuela_states.html.

60 http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Diosdado:Cabello.html, ECONOMICEXPERT.COM.

61 Karem Racines Arévalo, 5 muertos y 4 heridos por accidente aéreo en Catia La Mar (Five dead, four

injured because of airplane accident in Catia La Mar), EL NACIONAL (Venezuela) Apr. 28, 2008 (“[e]n 

los predios del hospital se confirmó la presencia del ex vicepresidente Jorge Rodríguez, quien acudió al 

lugar a constatar el estado de salud de[] [Alfredo José Anzola].”)(“[I]n the hospital area it was 

confirmed the presence of the former vice president Jorge Rodriguez, who went to the place to verify 

the state of health of [Alfredo José Anzola]”); Gustavo Coronel, The Impact of Alan Garcia’s Victory 

On The Latin American Political Scenario, June 6, 2006, 

http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200606060730 (referring to “Jorge Rodriguez, 

former President of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council” as Chávez’ “aide de camp”); Brad 

Friedman, Smartmatic Co-Founder, Employee, and Shareholder Dead After Both Engines on Small 

Plane Reportedly Failed Just After Takeoff (May 2, 2008), available at 
13

Chacín,62 who as previously noted is implicated in Venezuela’s provision of weapons 

to U.S. blacklisted FARC in neighboring Columbia and who may be related to Anzola,

63 attended Anzola at his death bed.64

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5947; United States v. Maionica, et al., Indictment, Case Number 07-

20999-CR-Lenard/Torres (Dec. 20, 2007) (*A copy of this document is available from the court);

United States v. Maionica, et al., Criminal Complaint, Case Number 07-3513-Dubé, with affidavit of 

Michael J. Lasiewicki, Special Agent with the FBI (Dec. 12, 2007) (*A copy of this document is 

available from the court); United States v. Maionica, et al., Case Number 07-20999-CR-Lenard/Torres, 

Docket Sheet. (Plea Jan. 25, 2008) (*A copy of this document is available from the court).

62 Anthony Rangel and Nadeska Noriega Ávila, Avioneta cae sobre vivienda en Vargas (Small Plane 

Falls On House In Vargas) (Apr. 29, 2008), 

http://www.eluniversal.com/2008/04/29/sucgc_art_avioneta-cae-sobre-v_840399.shtml. 

63 Id. see Juan Forero, Venezuela Offered Aid to Colombian Rebels: Officials Served as Middlemen With 

Arms Dealers, Files Show, WASH. POST, May 15, 2008, at A11, available at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR2008051403785.html; Juan 

Forero, FARC Computer Files Are Authentic, Interpol Probe Finds, WASH. POST, May 16, 2006, 

available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051504153.html (both articles describing records of FARC 

commanders meeting with Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín).

64 See. Karem Racines Arévalo, 5 muertos y 4 heridos por accidente aéreo en Catia La Mar (Five dead, 

four injured because of airplane accident in Catia La Mar), EL NACIONAL (Venezuela) Apr. 28, 2008, 

article available for purchase at http://www.lexis.com; Anthony Rangel and Nadeska Noriega Ávila, 

Avioneta cae sobre vivienda en Vargas (Small Plane Falls On House In Vargas) (Apr. 29, 2008), 

http://www.eluniversal.com/2008/04/29/sucgc_art_avioneta-cae-sobre-v_840399.shtml.