Dupe? Alderman says voting glitches may have been part of a conspiracy

[MelissaB]

Alderman says voting glitches may have been part of a conspiracy

CHICAGO Powerful Chicago Alderman Edward Burke has suggested that a Venezuelan-owned company involved in last month's Chicago vote-counting problems may be part of a conspiracy to subvert elections in the United States.

Burke made the allegations yesterday in the City Council while questioning the president of Sequoia Voting Systems, the company which supplied the city with the high-tech voting equipment.

Burke noted that Sequoia's parent company, the Smartmatic International Group, is more than 90 percent owned by a Venezuelan family. He went so far as to say that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is a frequent critic of the U-S, could have an interest in influencing elections here.

After the hearing, Sequoia president Jack Blaine dismissed Burke's speculations as worthless, calling them, quote, "a crackpot theory."


Link: http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=4744553&nav=1sW7

This appears in an IL newspaper.

[rfranklin]

1. Get out the Reynolds Wrap!

If the company is owned by a wealthy Venezuelan family, you can bet they aren't in cahoots with Chavez.

[Trajan]

2. Let's get back to the REAL issue ....

Can Elections be fair IF clans, families or political organisations count the votes in secret, no matter WHICH technology is used ? ....

In the end, this isnt about Chavez or Venezuela, or Chicago either: It is about the basic fairness necessary in a Democracy ....

The votes MUST be counted IN THE OPEN ......

[Wilms]

5. Excellent commentary.

One reason I like this story is that it sheds light on the real issues. I don't want corporate vendors or foreign nationals, or private contractors involved in the election process.

[MelissaB]

3. I got a kick out of this right wing conspiracy theory.

:rofl:
No way Chavez would help put Bush in the oval office.

[Warpy]

4. No shit, Sherlock, and you can bet they want GOPs to win

in US elections because GOPs will try to overthrow Chavez.

My state has gone to 100% paper ballots. They're optical scan ballots, which means the scanners can be hacked, but the paper trail will be there and they can be manually counted.