Voting Machine Mess-up Du Jour (Displayed 12/02/04)

Clark County, Nevada. July, 1996. Sequoia.
Touch screen malfunctions, receives state certification.

Malfunctions of the AVC Edge during the state certification test didn't prevent officials from approving the system.*

In July, 1996 a public test to certify Clark County’s Sequoia Pacific machine for early voting was conducted. During the test, a cartridge malfunctioned: also the examiner (selected by the state) had difficulty casting his vote. He had to vote 51 times rather than the designated 50, an option not afforded the voter should the machine malfunction in an actual election. In spite of these malfunctions, the machine was given certification—the equivalent of declaring it accurate, reliable and secure.

Seventy-five people witnessed this test from a cordoned-off position approximately 20 feet away. Election officials removed cartridges from the SP machine for future verification but shortly thereafter the cartridges disappeared. Registrar Kathryn Ferguson, immediately notified the FBI. To date, neither the FBI nor Ms. Ferguson will comment on the disappearance.

* Clark County's Vote: How Secure Is It? Nevada Journal. August, 1998. By Lois Gross.

See: Sequoia in the News

News stories make it rapidly apparent that
electronic voting is not reliable, accurate, or secure.
Any one who claims otherwise is either uninformed or deceptive.
~ Joseph Holder