Sequoia Responds

Yesterday I linked to an oped by Richard Brand in the Miami Herald, "Forget Dubai -- worry about Smartmatic instead." In response, Michelle Shafer, Vice President of Communications and External Affairs for Sequoia Voting Systems, writes:

Yesterday you posted a link to an op-ed that was published in the Miami Herald about Sequoia's parent company Smartmatic Corporation - http://electionlawblog.org/archives/005283.html.

I wanted to forward along some information to you about Sequoia's ownership just as an FYI as there have been many inaccuracies reported about this:

Sequoia Voting Systems is an American company, based in Oakland, California with a 100-year history of providing accurate, reliable, state-of-the-art voting solutions dating back to the nation's first lever-based mechanical voting equipment in the 1890s. Sequoia provides election services and support to state and local government including precinct-based optical scan ballot readers, high-speed central count optical scan ballot readers, ballot layout and printing services, and full-face and paginating electronic voting equipment with optional printers that produce voter verifiable paper records.

Prior to its combination with Smartmatic in 2005, Sequoia was owned by a British company, which had purchased it from another European company. Today Sequoia Voting Systems is owned by Smartmatic Corporation, a U.S. company. Smartmatic Corporation is owned by a Dutch holding company, which also owns all of the other companies in which Smartmatic currently conducts business. Smartmatic is privately held. A controlling interest is held by its founder and CEO, Antonio Mugica, who holds dual Spanish and Venezuelan citizenship. No shares in Smartmatic have ever been held by any foreign government. Smartmatic is a multinational company with a significant presence in the U.S. and in Latin America, and is dedicated to bringing the world's most secure and transparent electoral solutions to the U.S. and world markets.

UPDATE: Richard Brand, author of the oped, responds:

Sequoia's spokeswoman says that there "have been many inaccuracties reported about this." I don't think she identified a single inaccuracy in my story. I think readers should parse what she wrote and compare it to what I wrote. Until Smartmatic purchased Sequoia, its only election experience was in Venezuela and that was a pretty sorry experience. Trying to cast Mugica as a dual Spanish-Venezuelan citizen to make him more credible is eye-popping. I'd be curious to know when he obtained his Spanish citizenship, although ultimately it is irrelevant. As for Smartmatic International's ownership and that Dutch holding company, here are links to those Curacao trusts that control the Dutch holding company. Let's see how long before Smartmatic's lawyers change the ownership structure to make it even more obscure. These links won't be good for long!
here, here, and here.
Richard Brand

Posted by Rick Hasen at March 29, 2006 12:03 PM