Voting machine software for Venezuela’s 2004 Presidential Recall Referendum was developed as a joint effort between the Venezuelan government’s National Electoral Council (CNE) and Smartmatic, according to a European Union election observer finding.
The Venezuelan government owns the Smartmatic source code.
“The VM [voting machine] software was developed by Smartmatic in conjunction with the CNE,” the EU report found.
“The CNE, however, owns the source code of all Smartmatic software they use [sic],” according to the report.
“The CNE… owns the source code of all Smartmatic software they use,” the report says on page 24.
International observer missions from the Carter Center and the European Union conducted interviews and meetings with those responsible for the referendum process.
All parties agreed to the meetings. Those interviewed included the companies responsible for guaranteeing the democratic process (Smartmatic, Bizta and CANTV). Carter Center and EU personnel interviewed the companies’ main officials.
Source:
1. eeas.europa.eu/pdf/missions/finalreportenversion
2. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/node
1. Is Smartmatic’s use of state-sponsored election source code a form of state-sponsored subversion or malign foreign influence against the United States?
2. Since the EU and observers from Carter Center confirmed that the source code of all Smartmatic software is owned by the Venezuelan government’s National Electoral Council (CNE), why didn’t they report these irregularities or demand that the CNE open the source code for independent audit?
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