Full Timeline
Full Timeline
This is a timeline about malign foreign influence on our nation’s electoral processes.
It is not about messaging or narrative. It isn’t about hacking. All computer software and systems are hackable.
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15Wednesday October, 1997
- Antonio Mugica incorporates Software Softer (Bizta) in Caracas, Venezuela
Software Softer, C.A., is incorporated in Caracas, Venezuela, by Antonio José Mugica Rivero, Antonio Mugica, Jr., hereafter referenced as “Antonio...
1997 -
11Tuesday April, 2000
- Smartmatic is incorporated in Delaware
Smartmatic Corporation is incorporated in Delaware on April 11, 2000, giving its principal physical address as 19591 Dinner Key Drive,...
2000 -
12Wednesday April, 2000
- Bizta Corp is incorporated in Delaware
Bizta Corporation is incorporated as an American company in Delaware on April 12, 2000, by the same shareholders of Smartmatic....
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07Tuesday November, 2000
- Florida’s ‘hanging chads’ issue complicates Bush vs Gore balloting
The “hanging chads” on ballots punched on Florida’s mechanical voting machines complicate the vote count and delay election results to...
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22Friday June, 2001
- Software Softer changes name to Bizta R&D in 2001 and acquires Bizta Corporation of Delaware
Software Softer, C.A. of Venezuela changes its corporate name to Bizta R&D Software, C.A., and buys 100% of the shares...
2001 -
14Tuesday January, 2003
- Dominion Voting Systems is created in Canada
John Poulos founds Dominion Voting Systems in Toronto as a business dedicated to developing electoral solutions. In 2010, after Smartmatic...
2003 -
10Tuesday June, 2003
- Chavez regime acquires 28% of Bizta R&D, maker of Smartmatic software
The Chavez government by this time has acquired 28% of Bitza Corporation, the company developing the election software for Smartmatic...
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17Tuesday June, 2003
- Heider Garcia begins his nearly 13-year career with Smartmatic, developing SAES in Caracas
In Caracas, computer engineer Heider Garcia (Dallas County Election Administrator 2024) begins what will be a nearly 13-year career with...
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25Monday August, 2003
- Jorge Rodríguez heads Venezuela’s National Electoral Council
Jorge Rodríguez is appointed Director of the National Electoral Council (CNE). Rodriguez is considered the electoral strategist of Chavismo. As...
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08Wednesday October, 2003
- Jorge Rodríguez: Bizta stake will let regime ‘take control’ of Smartmatic software in ES&S machines
The National Electoral Commission is engaged in negotiations with the American ES&S company to buy voting machines, but not the...
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15Monday December, 2003
- Chavez official joins Bizta R&D board to represent regime’s shares
“Dec. 15, 2003: Omar Montilla, a top official in Venezuela’s Ministry of Science and Technology, joins Bizta’s board of directors,”...
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24Saturday January, 2004
- SBC Consortium: Smartmatic and Bizta join Venezuelan state-run CANTV
Smartmatic, Bizta, and the state-run CANTV form the SBC Consortium for the purpose of contracting with the Hugo Chavez regime’s...
2004 -
16Monday February, 2004
- Jorge Rodriguez gives $91 million contract to Smartmatic & Bizta
National Electoral Council rector Jorge Rodríguez annnounces that he has issued a $91 million contract to the SBC Consortium (Smartmatic,...
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04Thursday March, 2004
- Smartmatic signs supplier deal with Chavez regime to provide Olivetti lottery machines as voting machines
“The Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) signed a contract with the SBC Consortium for the acquisition of 20.000 voting machines,...
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20Tuesday April, 2004
- Miami Herald: Smartmatic machines ‘could be used to manipulate’ vote tally
“Venezuela’s electoral council is scrapping its 6-year-old voting machines and replacing them with touch-screen computers from a tiny South Florida...
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20Tuesday April, 2004
- Mugica: Smartmatic ‘most secure voting system … in the world’
“Even though our system is not well known, it is the most secure voting system available in the world,” Smartmatic...
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20Tuesday April, 2004
- Johns Hopkins computer professor warns about Smartmatic
“I’ve never heard of Smartmatic. I’d be very concerned about an unknown player with that big of a contract, especially...
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28Friday May, 2004
- ‘Venezuela owns stake in ballots’
The Miami Herald breaks the first major investigative story about the Bizta software company that designed the Smartmatic software to...
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28Friday May, 2004
- Chavez government official on Bizta (Smartmatic) developer’s board won’t talk
The Hugo Chavez official on the board of Bizta, the company developing Smartmatic Automatic Elections Systems (SAES) electronic voting systems...
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28Friday May, 2004
- Harvard prof: 28% ownership of Bizta gives regime ‘substantial power’
“Harvard Professor Ricardo Hausmann, a former Venezuelan official who also has worked as the chief economist of the Inter-American Development...
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11Friday June, 2004
- Bizta says it ‘buys out’ Chavez regime’s 28%, but claims it’s just repaying a loan
In a news release, Bizta contradicts itself by saying on the one hand that it is buying out the regime’s...
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12Saturday June, 2004
- Opposition says ‘fraud’ as Bizta claims to buy back regime’s shares
Bizta, the startup that makes Smartmatic election software, announces it will buy back the Venezuelan government’s 28 percent stake in...
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15Sunday August, 2004
- Smartmatic helps Hugo Chávez ‘defeat’ presidential recall referendum
Smartmatic makes its SAES voting systems debut on contract with the Venezuelan government. The recall refendum was a process seeking...
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21Tuesday September, 2004
- ‘Mathematically impossible’ Smartmatic results prompt opposition boycott
Venezuela’s opposition bloc is boycotting a special audit of the tallies of the vote that failed to recall strongman Hugo...
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18Tuesday January, 2005
- Heider Garcia designs Smartmatic source code audit protocol & processes
In Caracas, Heider Garcia supervises the deployment of technology to the client side, according to an archived version of his...
2005 -
20Thursday January, 2005
- Jorge Rodriguez elevated as president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council
National Electoral Commission (CNE) director Jorge Rodriguez, is promoted to become CNE president. This appointment is highly criticized, since the...
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09Wednesday March, 2005
- Smartmatic buys Sequoia Voting Systems for $16 million
With cash generated from its Venezuelan government contract to run the referendum to recall President Hugo Chavez, Smartmatic acquires the...
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09Wednesday March, 2005
- Smartmatic begins Sequoia Integration (SAES-WinEDS)
With the acquisition of Sequoia and its generations-old reputation and track record, Smartmatic can now merge its new Venezuela-developed technology...
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26Thursday May, 2005
- Cook County, Illinois picks Sequoia with Smartmatic system
“After months of discussions, demonstrations and research, David Orr, County Clerk of Cook County, Illinois announced that suburban Cook County...
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19Monday September, 2005
- Bipartisan Carter-Baker team warns of ‘insider’ threats to software & source code
A bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform issues a consensus report that warns about lack of transparency in American electronic...
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04Sunday December, 2005
- E.U. report: Venezuelan regime’s CNE owns Smartmatic’s software (SAES) source code
Voting machine software for Venezuela’s 2004 Presidential Recall Referendum was developed as a joint effort between the Venezuelan government’s National...
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04Sunday December, 2005
- E.U. says Smartmatic source code not available for scrutiny or audit
In its 2005 Election Observer Mission report on Venezuela, the European Union says that Smartmatic’s source code is “not made...
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04Sunday December, 2005
- E.U. calls for full audits of Smartmatic systems, including source code
The E.U. Election Observer Mission report on Venezuela calls for two types of audits of the (Bizta/Smartmatic) source code and...
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06Thursday April, 2006
- Investor’s Business Daily: Smartmatic might be foreign ‘asymmetrical threat’ to U.S. elections
Americans need to be “wary of asymmetrical threats from hostile entities no matter what the size,” Investor’s Business Daily says...
2006 -
07Friday April, 2006
- Sequoia CEO calls Chicago alderman’s Venezuela concerns ‘a crackpot theory’
“Venezuela gave Chicago Ozzie Guillen, the beloved manager of the World Series champion White Sox. But is the South American...
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07Friday April, 2006
- ‘Impossible’ for Hugo Chavez to influence vote, Sequoia claims
“Hugo Chavez’s ability to manipulate the vote in Chicago is impossible,” Sequoia CEO Jack Blaine said after a heated Chicago...
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27Thursday April, 2006
- ‘Angst about Sequoia’ is due to its owner’s Venezuela roots
“Much of the angst about Sequoia is related to its purchase in March 2005 by Smartmatic Corp., a company that...
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04Thursday May, 2006
- Democrat lawmaker requests CFIUS probe into Venezuelan government ownership of Sequoia/Smartmatic
Democratic Congrasswoman Carolyn B. Maloney asks Treasury Secretary John W. Snow for a CFIUS investigation of Smartmatic “and its acquisition...
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10Monday July, 2006
- U.S. Embassy in Caracas believes Smartmatic has hidden owners tied to Chavez
A confidential US Embassy cable raises powerful questions about Smartmatic, alleging that its real ownership is hidden as it expands...
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10Monday July, 2006
- U.S. Embassy: Smartmatic CEO says most of firm’s manufacturing is done in China
Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica tells the US Embassy in Caracas that while its election machinery for American elections is “assembled”...
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10Monday July, 2006
- Smartmatic CEO reneged on allowing U.S. Embassy to examine voting machine
The US Embassy in Caracas says that Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica agreed to allow the embassy to inspect one of...
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06Friday October, 2006
- Democratic Rep. Maloney: Sequoia machines’ Smartmatic software is security threat
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney writes Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as a follow-up to her May letter to his predecessor, John Snow,...
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29Sunday October, 2006
- CFIUS probes Smartmatic-Sequoia deal
A panel of 12 federal agencies has opened an investigation of Smartmatic, the parent company of Sequoia Voting Systems, after...
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29Sunday October, 2006
- New York Times reports on CFIUS investigation
The Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S. is investigating Smartmatic’s ownership of Sequoia Voting Systems, the New...
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29Sunday October, 2006
- Smartmatic and Sequoia announce ‘voluntary CFIUS filing’
Sequoia Voting Systems “and its parent, the Smartmatic Corporation” announce “that, contrary to reports, the companies have voluntarily submitted a...
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29Sunday October, 2006
- Smartmatic & Sequoia say their merger ‘poses no national security risks’
In their Q&A distributed with the October 29 news release, Smartmatic and Sequoia claim that their merger “poses no national...
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29Sunday October, 2006
- Smartmatic calls self a ‘world leader’ in ‘auditable and reliable voting systems’
In a prepared Q&A circulated with its news release, Smartmatic again says it leads the world in providing “auditable” voting...
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29Sunday October, 2006
- Smartmatic & Sequoia say they have ‘nothing to hide’ from CFIUS
“Sequoia and Smartmatic elected to submit a voluntary notice to allow the U.S. government to review and put to rest...
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29Sunday October, 2006
- Evasive Q&A about Smartmatic and Hugo Chavez voter fraud
In their Q&A accompanying their October 29 press release, Smartmatic asks if there were allegations about vote tampering in the...
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30Monday October, 2006
- NBC: Smartmatic says ties to Hugo Chavez regime are ‘baseless rumors’
Through a lawyer, Smartmatic brushes off as “baseless rumors” the idea that the company is or was in any way...
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31Tuesday October, 2006
- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom gets Smartmatic-Sequoia update
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the city Board of Supervisors receive an “Update on Request for Proposal for Implementation...
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30Thursday November, 2006
- Report: IRS & FBI probe tax evasion, corruption, death threat allegations
El Nuevo Herald, the Miami Herald‘s Spanish-language sister publication, reports that IRS and FBI agents “are investigating allegations involving tax...
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01Friday December, 2006
- Feds eye Smartmatic for ‘bribery and tax fraud’
In addition to the CFIUS probe, “Federal investigators are looking into whether Smartmatic Corp., a voting-machine company whose equipment is...
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01Friday December, 2006
- Maloney: CFIUS should release Smartmatic probe results
The congresswoman who first called on CFIUS to probe the Smartmatic purchase of Sequoia calls for the Treasury Department-led, 12-agency...
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02Saturday December, 2006
- Smartmatic denies it paid a bribe in Venezuela or evaded U.S. taxes
“Smartmatic, an international company with offices in Boca Raton, has contacted the Justice Department to deny allegations that its Venezuelan...
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21Thursday December, 2006
- Smartmatic sells Sequoia to execs as SVS Holdings
Prior to completion of a Treasury Department CFIUS investigation raised in 2006 by Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Smartmatic announces...
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22Friday December, 2006
- Smartmatic to sell Sequoia & give up its U.S. market ‘to end’ CFIUS review
Smartmatic says it will sell its American subsidiary, Sequoia Voting Systems, “to end a review by the Committee on Foreign...
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03Wednesday January, 2007
- Hugo Chávez names Jorge Rodríguez a Vice President of Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez names National Electoral Council leader Jorge Rodríguez as Executive Vice President of the country. This makes...
2007 -
01Tuesday May, 2007
- NYU law experts praise investigator of Smartmatic
Prominent law professors praise the work of Richard Brand for his investigative reporting on Smartmatic and what the foreign company...
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20Friday July, 2007
- California commissioned the study of the Smartmatic-Sequoia source code and its documentation does not comply with the standards.
The State of California, concerned with questions about Smartmatic’s acquisition of Sequoia, commissions an independent Source Code Review of the...
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30Monday July, 2007
- ‘Significant security weaknesses throughout the Sequoia system,’ California finds
State of California review of Sequoia source code finds “significant security weaknesses throughout the Sequoia system.” The California Secretary of...
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25Thursday October, 2007
- California de-certifies Sequoia systems, citing institutional flaws in source code
As part of its bottom-up review of electronic voting systems source codes, the California Secretary of State issues a revised...
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01Thursday November, 2007
- Carter Center describes Smartmatic’s SAES system in Venezuela
In its November 2007 final report on the Venezuelan election, the Carter Center devotes a section to a detailed description...
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05Monday November, 2007
- Contract: Sequoia to be ‘distributor’ of Barbados-based Smartmatic technology
A distribution agreement effective November 5, 2007 between Smartmatic and Sequoia establishes that Sequoia would distribute Smartmatic-manufactured technologies. In this...
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08Thursday November, 2007
- Sequoia/Smartmatic split ‘creates 100% American-owned and independent company’
In a news release, Sequoia announces that its sale from Smartmatic to a management owned investment group now “creates 100%...
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08Thursday November, 2007
- ‘Smartmatic selected this team to purchase Sequoia’
“Sequoia Voting Systems worked for many months with Smartmatic to find an appropriate situation that would be a win-win for...
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18Friday January, 2008
- Sequoia admits it still uses & will continue to sell Smartmatic software
Sequoia Voting Systems CEO Jack A. Blaine admits in response to a question that Sequoia still uses Smartmatic software and...
2008 -
18Friday January, 2008
- Sequoia denies any relationship with Venezuela regime
Sequoia CEO Jack Blaine denies any “arrangement with the government of Venezuela, any departments or subdivisions of the government of...
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12Thursday June, 2008
- Voter Action links Sequoia software to Hugo Chavez
“U.S. national security is potentially at risk because software used to count votes in 20% of the country during U.S....
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11Monday August, 2008
- Smartmatic & Dominion partner in Philippines
Smartmatic joins Dominion Voting Systems of Canada to carry out the first automated election in the Mindanao Region in the...
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08Monday March, 2010
- Obama Justice Department requires ES&S to divest its Premier voting equipment systems
The Department of Justice announces that it will “require Election Systems & Software (ES&S) to divest voting equipment systems assets...
2010 -
08Monday March, 2010
- Justice Department says it must approve who buys Premier from ES&S
The US Department of Justice must approve the buyer of Premier, and that buyer must be allowed to compete with...
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10Monday May, 2010
- Philippine Congress Questions Smartmatic
The House of Representatives investigating allegations of fraud in the May 10, 2010 elections after sitting multiple times seeks to...
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19Wednesday May, 2010
- Dominion buys Premier Election Solutions from ES&S with Justice Department approval
With Department of Justice approval, Dominion Voting Systems buys Premier after DOJ forced ES&S to divest. “Dominion Voting Systems, Inc....
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04Friday June, 2010
- Dominion buys Sequoia assets, including ‘all’ software
Dominion Voting Systems announces that it has acquired the assets of Colorado-based Sequoia Voting Systems, with operations in “nearly 300...
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04Friday June, 2010
- Dominion seems to say it ‘acquired’ Smartmatic software
In announcing its acquisition of the assets of Sequoia Voting Systems, Dominion says it “has acquired Sequoia’s inventory of Smartmatic...
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22Tuesday June, 2010
- HuffPost: In buying Sequoia, Dominion ‘lies about Chavez ties’
“Intellectual Property of voting systems still owned by firm linked to Venezuelan President, despite press statement to the contrary,” the...
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22Tuesday June, 2010
- Dominion says it does not own Smartmatic I.P. from Sequoia purchase
Having implied in a news release that it took ownership of Smartmatic intellectual property in the Sequoia purchase, Dominion tells...
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27Tuesday July, 2010
- Smartmatic CEO denies Hugo Chavez regime has held stake in company
“No foreign government or entity — including Venezuela — has ever held an ownership stake in Smartmatic, and we have...
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05Saturday February, 2011
- Huawei denies to Wall Street Journal that it’s a security risk
Huawei writes a six-page open letter to the Wall Street Journal, denying allegations that it is a security risk, and...
2011 -
02Monday May, 2011
- Dominion begins operation in Belgrade, Serbia
Dun & Bradstreet internet directory records list Dominion Voting Systems as starting operations in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2011. Source:1. www.joberty.com/it-company/469/dominion-voting-systems/overview2....
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03Tuesday May, 2011
- Dominion set up its primary data center in Serbia with Huawei strategic partner
Dominion Voting Systems builds a data center in Belgrade, Serbia, through Roaming Networks, also known as Dot Networks. Roaming/Dot is...
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25Friday May, 2012
- Smartmatic files motion for reconsideration
Smartmatic files an urgent motion for reconsideration requesting the State Elections Commission (SEC) to halt the imminent negotiations with Dominion...
2012 -
12Wednesday September, 2012
- Smartmatic announces lawsuit against Dominion
Smartmatic announces that it has filed a lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems for breach of licensing agreements and “tortious interference”...
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08Monday October, 2012
- House intelligence panel releases bipartisan report on Huawei security threat
Huawei presents a strategic threat to American telecommunications and other critical infrastructure, and the company failed to cooperate with congressional...
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25Thursday October, 2012
- Obama votes early on a Smartmatic machine controlled by Dominion with Venezuelan software
“President Obama’s made history on October 25, by becoming the first-ever incumbent president to cast an early vote. We are...
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26Friday April, 2013
- Smartmatic faces suit over missing source code in the Philippines
The Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is considering filing a lawsuit against Smartmatic for failing to release the source code...
2013 -
01Wednesday May, 2013
- Smartmatic loses suit against Dominion for control of Puerto Rico elections
A federal court denies Smartmatic’s case against Dominion for control of the Puerto Rico election market. Smartmatic had sued Dominion,...
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11Tuesday June, 2013
- Suit filed in Philippines over Smartmatic ‘irregular, graft-ridden contracts’
“A poll watchdog group has filed graft and corruption charges with the Ombudsman against former officials of the Commission on...
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27Saturday July, 2013
- Former NSA chief Michael Hayden calls Huawei ‘unambiguous’ threat
“Former NSA director Michael Hayden has been making news himself by claiming Chinese technology company Huawei represents an unambiguous national...
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21Friday March, 2014
- Jack Blaine’s files SVS bankruptcy and explains on an affidavit the Sequoia-Smartmatic links
Dominion Voting Systems Managing Director for International Sales Jack Blaine announces the bankruptcy of SVS Holdings. In a declaration to...
2014 -
15Monday September, 2014
- Brennan Center raises concerns of voting machine vulnerability
Inattention nationwide to the nation’s aging voting machine systems are a grave security concern, the Brennan Center for Justice warns...
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24Monday November, 2014
- Smartmatic CEO announces SGO group, with Mark Malloch-Brown as chairman
On November 24, 2014, Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica and Mark Malloch-Brown announce the formation of a new venture, SGO, with...
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30Thursday April, 2015
- Malloch-Brown stresses ‘audits’ and ‘trust’
Smartmatic Chairman Mark Malloch-Brown and company Global Sales President Robert Cook visit Puerto Rico, in the comany’s words, to explain...
2015 -
22Monday June, 2015
- Malloch-Brown says Smartmatic licenses software from Dominion
Smartmatic Chairman Mark Malloch Brown says that the company licenses software from Dominion. He makes the comment during an interview...
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09Friday October, 2015
- Malloch-Brown: Machines build ‘trust’ for voting by internet
Smartmatic’s Mark Malloch Brown calls electronic voting systems one of several “interim confidence building steps” toward building “trust” ultimately to...
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09Friday October, 2015
- Malloch-Brown joins National Democratic Institute chair on digital elections
Smartmatic CEO Mark Malloch-Brown joins National Democratic Institute leader and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright and a second National...
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28Wednesday October, 2015
- Malloch-Brown: ‘The future of democracy must be digital’
Mark Malloch-Brown, who describes himself as “the chairman of Smartmatic,” deplores low voter participation in the UK and argues that...
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07Monday December, 2015
- Smartmatic says it ‘guaranteed the flawless results’ of Venezuela vote
“Following Venezuela’s recent elections, Smartmatic announced today that its secure automated voting platform guaranteed the flawless results of the nation’s...
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25Monday January, 2016
- Malloch-Brown cites World Economic Forum & Obama to push ‘online voting’
With Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica calling for a global “tranformation” of voting, Smartmatic Chairman Mark Malloch-Brown cites President Barack Obama...
2016 -
30Monday May, 2016
- Products ‘are completely developed in Belgrade,’ Serbia, Dominion official says
Dominion’s “products such as Democracy Suite Election Management System, ImageCast Evolution and ImageCast X are completely developed in Belgrade,” Serbia,...
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11Monday July, 2016
- Dominion brings talent from Belgrade, Serbia
The leading Serbian computer magazine PC PRESS dedicates an article to Dominion Voting Systems in Belgrade. Goran Obradovic, Vice President...
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12Tuesday July, 2016
- Smartmatic probed in Philippines for changing source code
After a difficult day in the 2013 elections where the Electoral Commission found itself in the middle of a dispute...
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28Wednesday September, 2016
- Congressman Lieu sees national election risk in swing states & counties
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) tells the Election Assistance Commission that he is concerned about electronic voting system vulnerabilities of individual...
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21Monday November, 2016
- Malloch-Brown kicks off U.S.-funded global election event that features Mugica
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), a US government-funded organization, holds a “global elections” conference in Washington that features...
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02Monday January, 2017
- DHS designates election systems as critical infrastructure
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson designates America’s “election infrastructure” as part of the nation’s “critical infrastructure”. “By ‘election infrastructure,’...
2017 -
22Saturday April, 2017
- Mugica shows Obama voting on Smartmatic machine
Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic Chairman and CEO, posts a 2016 picture of President Barack Obama voting. On Twitter, Mugica says, “President...
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01Monday May, 2017
- Maduro calls for assembly elections to draft new constitution and relies on Smartmatic’s technology
After a month of deadly protests against his regime, Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro calls for the election of a constituent...
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30Sunday July, 2017
- Hackers at DEF CON find & exploit vulnerabilities in 5 voting systems
“It took less than a day for attendees at the DefCon hacking conference to find and exploit vulnerabilities in five...
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30Sunday July, 2017
- Venezuelan opposition decries constitutional vote as fraudulent
Low voter turnout and denunciations from the opposition mark the July 30 elections for a constituent assembly that will draft...
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31Monday July, 2017
- Trump administration sanctions Maduro
The day after the Venezuelan constituent assembly elections, the Trump Administration imposes sanctions on President Nicolas Maduro. The sanctions prohibit...
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02Wednesday August, 2017
- Maduro voter turnout figures ‘tampered with,’ Smartmatic says
Issuing a written and video statement from London, Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica says that the company’s processes are “tamper resistant”...
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02Wednesday August, 2017
- Smartmatic says it stands by victories of Chavez in 2004, Maduro in 2013
“Smartmatic has stood behind all the results of the elections held in Venezuela from 2004 to 2015, regardless of what...
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02Wednesday August, 2017
- Smartmatic’s Mugica says regime ‘manipulated’ turnout numbers
In a London statement, Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica accuses the Maduro regime of having “manipulated” the turnout numbers, and claims...
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02Wednesday August, 2017
- Smartmatic won’t say whether ‘manipulated’ numbers affected results
In his admission that Smartmatic software can be manipulated, company CEO Antonio “Mugica declined to directly answer whether the manipulated...
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03Thursday August, 2017
- Maduro stands by vote count despite fraud allegation
“Venezuela’s president rejected accusations on Wednesday that his government inflated turnout figures from its constituent assembly election, branding them part...
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03Thursday August, 2017
- Maduro says U.S. & U.K. ‘pressured’ Smartmatic to dispute figures
Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro denounces Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica and claims that the United States government pressured the company to...
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17Thursday August, 2017
- The beginning of the path to federal indictments of Smartmatic execs
Patricia Bautista, wife of Phillipine Elections Commission President Andres Bautista, accuses her husband of building a fortune in unexplained wealth....
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12Tuesday September, 2017
- Smartmatic CEO admits his software was used in Venezuela’s fraudulent 2017 elections, but disclaims responsibility
After the fraud denouncement, Smartmatic delivers its electoral software “Today with the deepest regret we have to inform that the...
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20Friday October, 2017
- Smartmatic disclaims any role in Venezuela regional vote
In a message to “Venezuela and the global community,” Smartmatic denies any involvement in Venezuela’s October 15 regional elections, but...
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03Friday November, 2017
- Mastermind of Venezuelan electoral process Jorge Rodriguez is appointed Minister of Communication and Information
Jorge Rodriguez, the Venezuelan official who issued the 2003 Bizta-Smartmatic contract to run the 2004 elections, is appointed Minister of...
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30Thursday November, 2017
- FBI creates Foreign Influence Task Force
The FBI establishes a Foreign Influence Task Force within its Counterintelligence Division. FBI Director Christopher Wray disclosed the FITF’s creation...
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15Thursday February, 2018
- Heider Garcia, part of Smartmatic’s 2010 Philippines program, is elections chief in Tarrant County, Texas
Heider Garcia, a longtime Smartmatic engineer and manager, is named elections administrator in Tarrant County, Texas. According to his LinkedIn...
2018 -
06Tuesday March, 2018
- Smartmatic “ceases” its operations in Venezuela
After years of battling complaints of its Venezuela ties, Smartmatic announces that it is shutting down its operations in that...
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19Thursday April, 2018
- Nicolas Maduro “Wins” the election again thanks to Smartmatic
After the support received from Smartmatic for the National Electoral Council in the regional and municipal elections in 2017, what...
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12Tuesday June, 2018
- DOJ briefs Senate on election interference & foreign influence ops
The Justice Department tells the Senate about foreign interference in American elections. A senior official describes foreign influence operations against...
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14Thursday June, 2018
- Maduro hands over Venezuela’s vice presidency to the sister of electoral strategist Jorge Rodríguez
Venezuelan President Maduro appoints Delsy Rodriguez, sister of Jorge Rodriguez, as executive vice president of the country. Jorge Rodriguez, as...
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28Thursday June, 2018
- Election Vendor Security Act introduced in House, dies in committee
The Election Vendor Security Act is introduced in the House to amend a 2002 electoral security law. Part of the...
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16Monday July, 2018
- Staple Street Capital takes big Dominion stake
Dominion Voting Systems “announces that it has been acquired by its management team and Staple Street Capital, a leading New York-based,...
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09Thursday August, 2018
- Black Hat 2018 looks at voting system vulnerability
The biggest annual cybersecurity conference takes a look at the vulnerability of American voting machines. At Black Hat 2018 in...
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27Monday August, 2018
- Obama election expert: 11 year-old hacker shows ease of sabotaging U.S. votes
“Changing recorded votes would be difficult for bad actors. But at Def Con in Las Vegas, children had no trouble...
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25Tuesday September, 2018
- U.S. sanctions Jorge Rodriguez, electoral strategist and head of Smartmatic’s contract in Venezuela
The United States government, through the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), imposes personal sanctions on senior Venezuelan...
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28Monday January, 2019
- U.S. charges Huawei with criminal conspiracy & other crimes
“Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturing giant Huawei Technologies Co., LTD has been charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud...
2019 -
27Wednesday March, 2019
- Top Senate Democrats ask Dominion & others why they sell vulnerable systems
The most senior Senate Democrats responsible for security and intelligence ask Dominion CEO John Poulos and the heads of two...
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08Wednesday May, 2019
- Lofgren voices concern about ‘election technology vendors’
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), chair of the Committee on House Administration, says in a hearing that substantial election-related “vulnerability comes...
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14Tuesday May, 2019
- Lofgren introduces HR 2722 requiring source code ‘publicly available online’
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduces the SAFE Act, a wide-ranging bill to secure elections that would “require use of software...
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08Saturday June, 2019
- Huawei seen as ‘threat’ to democratic societies
“When Huawei networks, phones and devices are predominant in the world’s telecom infrastructure, so too will be the CCP’s dominance...
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21Friday June, 2019
- House panel marks up Lofgren bill on source codes
The House Committee on Administration holds a markup of Rep. Lofgren’s bill, HR 2722 or the SAFE Act, which contains...
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27Thursday June, 2019
- House passes Lofgren’s SAFE Act with source code amendment
The House of Representatives votes to pass Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s SAFE Act, HR 2722, which contains a provision to amend...
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28Friday June, 2019
- Senate receives SAFE Act, which dies in committee
The Senate refers the SAFE Act the day after it was passed by the House. It is “read twice and...
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19Friday July, 2019
- Director of National Intelligence creates Election Threats Executive
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats announces the creation of an Election Threats Executive (ETE). “Election security is an enduring...
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30Tuesday July, 2019
- Georgia buys 30,000 Dominion machines for 2020 vote
In a $107,000,000 deal, the state of Georgia is buying 30,000 new Dominion voting machines to upgrade its haphazard and...
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23Monday September, 2019
- Rep. Lofgren introduces SHIELD Act to require inspection of election source codes
To protect “our elections from foreign interference,” Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduces HR 4617, the SHIELD Act. Among other things,...
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23Wednesday October, 2019
- House passes SHIELD Act requiring source code transparency
The House passes bill to stop “harmful interference in elections,” and, among other things, requiring that all election service vendors...
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28Monday October, 2019
- SHIELD Act is referred to Senate, where Schumer lets it die
The SHIELD Act, having passed the House with 227 Democrats voting yea, and 179 Republicans voting nay, goes to the...
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- Brennan Center: ‘Vendors present points of attack into election infrastructure’
The Brennan Center’s report on oversight of election service vendors says that those private companies “present points of attack into...
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- ‘Foreign power’ could ‘exploit’ vendor in a single county for national impact, Brennan Center warns
Given the concentration of a few electronic voting service vendors controlling the markets of most of the country, lack of...
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- Brennan Center: Software development a ‘serious risk’ to supply chain
“Serious risks” to the election vendor supply chain include “servers and server hosting, software development, transportation of sensitive equipment such...
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- Huawei shows risk to U.S. election vendor supply chain, Brennan Center says
“The recent ban on certain technologies made by the Chinese company Huawei is a stark illustration of the growing recognition...
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- Brennan Center: Insider threats within vendors are a problem
“Much of the conversation about election cybersecurity has imagined attackers in distant lands reaching our election infrastructure through the internet....
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- Brennan: Election vendors ‘largely free from federal oversight’
Private electronic voting systems companies operate “largely free from federal oversight,” the Brennan Center for Justice notes in the introduction...
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- Report: ‘Lack of transparency can mask foreign influence’
“Lack of transparency into ownership and control of election vendors can mask foreign influence over an election vendor and corruption...
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- Brennan Center’s ‘improper foreign and domestic influence’ idea could impact Dominion
The Brennan Center for Justice proposes “a range of approaches to … problems of improper foreign and domestic influence” in...
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12Tuesday November, 2019
- Election commission can require foreign disclosure w/no new laws, Brennan says
The federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) can require election systems venders to disclose their foreign connections without any new laws...
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16Monday December, 2019
- Chinese & Russia hardware power U.S. voting machines
While the focus has been on hackers disrupting U.S. elections, federal investigators and campaigns “may have overlooked a one major...
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06Thursday February, 2020
- DHS & CISA are found unprepared for 2020 election system threats
The Government Accountability Office tells Congress that the Department of Homeland Security and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) have...
2020 -
03Tuesday March, 2020
- Politico: Smartmatic flaws in L.A. County ‘could provide a gateway’ for fraud
Los Angeles County is making a “risky voting experiment” with its new electronic voting systems powered by Smartmatic software for...
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26Thursday March, 2020
- HBO’s ‘Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections’ opens to rave reviews
A new HBO documentary on cyber vulnerabilities to America’s elections premieres to rave reviews. Finninsh data security expert Harri Hursti...
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16Thursday April, 2020
- HBO shows value of vote cybersecurity, Forbes says
“It is important to know right off the bat that election security is not just about Russian interference and disinformation campaigns; it...
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30Tuesday June, 2020
- FEC: Smartmatic general counsel donates to Act Blue for Biden campaign
Federal Election Commission records show that Liliana Armas, Smartmatic General Counsel for the Americas, makes the first of several donations...
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01Saturday August, 2020
- With election system threats a big issue, CISA chief joins Black Hat 2020
“Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Christopher Krebs will be presenting “Election Security: Securing America’s Future“, a detailed rundown of...
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05Wednesday August, 2020
- ES&S issues new cyber security policy; Dominion has yet to act
Election Systems & Software, the biggest vendor of U.S. voting equipment, announces the release of a policy to improve its...
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15Saturday August, 2020
- ES&S lets hackers test its voting systems
“Election equipment maker ES&S is opening up its voting machines to hackers — willingly — under a new vulnerability disclosure...
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20Sunday September, 2020
- Smartmatic says its biometric I.D. lets gov’t ‘build lasting trust with citizens’
“Smartmatic has developed a digital identity ecosystem that allows governments to build lasting trust with citizens by offering enhanced privacy...
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26Monday October, 2020
- PBS asks if Georgia’s new voting machines will make things worse
“Protecting the American voting process from outside interference is a top priority this election season. But public and political opinion...
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26Monday October, 2020
- PBS: Dominion’s ‘last-minute software change’ could make election ‘even more severe’
PBS reports serious flaws in Georgia’s new electronic voting system. “By analyzing the structure of the Q.R. codes, I have...
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12Thursday November, 2020
- November 3 elections touted as ‘the most secure in American history’
“The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing...
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14Saturday November, 2020
- Smartmatic denies transferring ‘any technology’ to Dominion
“Against false statements, the facts: Smartmatic does not own Dominion Voting Systems and has never provided Dominion with any technology....
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15Sunday November, 2020
- Smartmatic USA chairman joins Biden-Harris transition team
Peter Neffenger, Chairman of Smartmatic USA’s board, was a senior Obama appointee and Biden-Harris transition team member. Smartmatic has purged...
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04Friday December, 2020
- Smartmatic Chairman Malloch-Brown named president of Soros foundations
Smartmatic’s parent shell announces that its chairman, Mark Malloch-Brown, is stepping down immediately to become president of the Open Society...
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11Friday December, 2020
- FCC affirms designation of Huawei as a national security threat
“The Federal Communications Commission today took another important step to secure the nation’s critical communications infrastructure by voting to deny...
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05Tuesday January, 2021
- Jorge Rodríguez named President of Venezuelan National Assembly
Venezuela’s electoral strategist is elected deputy to the National Assembly to occupy the position of President of the Legislative Power....
2021 -
13Saturday March, 2021
- FCC again names Huawei a threat; U.S. seen working with Europe to mitigate
“Biden may do more than Trump in working with allies against Huawei’s ambitious 5G expansion, taking a friendlier approach towards...
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03Thursday June, 2021
- Hart InterCivic and Microsoft announce partnership for open source election software
Voting machine developer Hart InterCivic and Microsoft Corp. announce a strategic partnership to incorporate ElectionGuard software developed by Microsoft into...
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22Thursday July, 2021
- Smartmatic ‘partners’ with CISA & DHS on ‘election security’
In an emergency election security exercise, Smartmatic is one of 12 election providers that “partnered” with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure...
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13Friday August, 2021
- A.P.: False claims obscure flaws that allow remote installation of malware
Allegations in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential elections include false claims that obscure what computer science experts call real...
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25Monday October, 2021
- Tarrant County, Texas, judge proposes Election Integrity Officer position
“To combat Election Fraud in Tarrant County, I’ve proposed a new position: Election Integrity Officer,” Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare...
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21Sunday November, 2021
- Hart InterCivic board member Matthew Glen Olsen becomes Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division
Matthew Glen Olsen, a Hart InterCivic board member since August, 2018, takes office as Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division....
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28Friday January, 2022
- Cybercrime center calls Smartmatic system ‘compromised’
“The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center … claimed that the system of poll technology provider Smartmatic has been compromised,” GMA...
2022 -
11Friday February, 2022
- CISA against releasing report on ‘multiple severe security flaws’ in Dominion machines
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, says that a report by a computer scientist who studied the Dominion...
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31Tuesday May, 2022
- CISA leaks Dominion alert to get states to ‘take action’
“Amid a swirl of misinformation and disinformation about elections, CISA seems to be trying to walk a line between not...
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03Friday June, 2022
- CISA issues advisory on 9 Dominion vulnerabilities
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the Department of Homeland Security issues an advisory that identifies nine “vulnerabilities...
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30Thursday June, 2022
- U.S. posts $10 million bounty for info on foreign election interference
“The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is offering a...
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23Saturday July, 2022
- FBI: Huawei tech can cause catastrophic consequences
An FBI counterintelligence investigation found that Huawei equipment planned for a garden pavilion in Washington DC could collect signals intelligence...
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01Thursday September, 2022
- Defying Kenya court order, Smartmatic denies electoral body access to servers
“Smartmatic International, the company procured by IEBC to provide technology for the August 9th General Election, has declined the order...
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23Friday September, 2022
- U.S. intelligence sets up Foreign Malign Influence Center
Authorized by Congress and established by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC) begins operating...
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25Friday November, 2022
- Biden puts squeeze on Huawei for ‘unacceptable risk’
“The Biden administration has banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE because they pose ‘an unacceptable...
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26Saturday November, 2022
- FCC turns screws on Huawei
“The five-member Federal Communications Commission said Friday it has voted unanimously to adopt new rules that will block the importation...
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12Thursday January, 2023
- Texas Attorney General Paxton seeks new laws to fight election crimes
Faced with a court decision that limits the powers of the state attorney general to investigate and prosecute election fraud,...
2023 -
08Wednesday February, 2023
- Heider Garcia absent as Tarrant County judge, D.A, and sheriff set up Election Integrity Task Force
At the Tarrant County Sheriff’s office in Fort Worth, the county judge and newly elected executive, the district attorney, and...
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21Tuesday February, 2023
- Tarrant County Democrats ‘condemn’ Election Integrity Task Force, back Heider Garcia
“Tarrant County’s two Democrats in the commissioners court slammed the Election Integrity Task Force on Tuesday, while 20 community members...
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23Thursday March, 2023
- Congress holds first hearing on foreign control of source code
The House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a hearing that includes tough and informed questioning about foreign regime control of...
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16Sunday April, 2023
- Heider Garcia resigns as Tarrant County, Texas election administrator
Heider Garcia, the longtime Smartmatic figure who ran the company’s controversial program in the 2010 election in the Philippines, resigns...
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14Friday July, 2023
- Heider Garcia joins federal Election Assistance Commission
Smartmatic veteran Heider Garcia announces his appointment as a Senior Subject Matter Expert with the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC)....
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14Thursday September, 2023
- Smartmatic CEO offers ‘tips to fight election disinformation’
Antonio Mugica, CEO of Smartmatic, offers “Safeguarding Elections in the Fake News,” with “concrete, actionable tips to fight election disinformation.”...
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18Wednesday October, 2023
- Heider Garcia becomes Dallas County elections administrator
Having resigned his job as Tarrant County, Texas (Fort Worth) elections administrator after the naming of an Elections Integrity Task...
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30Tuesday January, 2024
- Election Assistance Commission features Heider Garcia at 2024 Elections Summit
The federal Elections Assistance Commission elevates Heider Garcia to national status as a panelist at its 2024 Elections Summit. Source:1.https://www.eac.gov/events/2024/01/30/2024-elections-summit
2024 -
15Wednesday May, 2024
- DNI shows no awareness of foreign election manipulation through tech
The Director of National Intelligence tells a Senate panel that the intelligence community is on the lookout for foreign attempts...
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09Tuesday July, 2024
- Forbes: ‘LinkedIn billionaire backs Smartmatic’ against Fox News
LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman “has made a multimillion-dollar investment in Smartmatic, an election technology company, with the investment intended to...
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29Monday July, 2024
- 100 days from election, ODNI senses nothing
In an unclassified election threat report 100 days before Election Day, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)...
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30Tuesday July, 2024
- House intelligence Dems no longer interested in Venezuela
Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence cite the ODNI’s 100-day election report by keeping all eyes on...
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07Wednesday August, 2024
- ‘Foreign malign influence’ and other election threats keynote at Black Hat 2024
“Democracy’s Biggest Year: The Fight for Secure Elections Around the World” – That’s the keynote topic of the Black Hat...
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08Thursday August, 2024
- Feds criminally charge Smartmatic president
A federal grand jury has indicted Smartmatic CEO Roger Piñate and a Smartmatic vice president with crimes concerning foreign corruption...
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08Thursday August, 2024
- Smartmatic president still known for ‘notoriety’ after ‘company was chosen by … Hugo Chavez’
Smartmatic President Roger “Piñate, alongside Venezuelans Antonio Mugica and Alfredo José Anzola, founded Smartmatic in 2000, and gained notoriety after...
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08Thursday August, 2024
- Smartmatic hides identity of its indicted president
“Smartmatic has learned that two of our employees have been indicted for alleged violations of the [US] FCPA [Foreign Corrupt...
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09Friday August, 2024
- Indicted: Smartmatic president & COO, brother-in-law of chairman & CEO, other exec
Those named in the federal indictment: Source:1. Smartmatic-alleged-bribery-scheme-elections-philippines 1. Why did the Department of Justice news release announcing the federal...
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09Friday August, 2024
- DEF CON hacker challenge does online election simulation
“The security of the 2024 U.S. elections is one of the hottest topics on the floors of Black Hat and DEF CON...
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10Saturday August, 2024
- Heider Garcia says he hasn’t read indictment of old Smartmatic colleagues and has ‘no need to’
When asked if he read the federal grand jury indictment of his longtime former Smartmatic colleagues, Dallas County elections administrator...
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12Monday August, 2024
- Politico: Best hackers find voting machine vulnerabilities — but no time to fix them
“Some of the best hackers in the world gathered in Las Vegas over the weekend to try to break into...
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13Tuesday August, 2024
- Indicted Smartmatic president posts $8.5 million bond
Smartmatic co-founder and president Roger Piñate posts $8.5 million bond without issuing a statement of guilt or innocence after a...
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06Friday September, 2024
- 60 days out, ODNI no foreign attempts to interfere in U.S. elections
Sixty days ahead of the elections, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) still sees no foreign attempt...
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18Wednesday September, 2024
- FBI & CISA warn of Iran ‘discord’ email op
The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security (CISA) issue a joint statement about Iranian attempts to influence the 2024 election...
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20Friday September, 2024
- Georgia Election Board requires Dominion tallies plus hand-counting
The State Election Board of Georgia, faced with continuing legal challenges to the 2020 election results tallied on Dominion machines,...
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22Sunday September, 2024
- Senator Warnock decries Georgia Election Board ruling to hand-count ballots
Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) denounces the Georgia Election Board’s September 20 decision not to rely exclusively on electronic voting machines...
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23Monday September, 2024
- 45 days out, U.S. intelligence still shows no concern
In its interagency intelligence assessment 45 days before the election, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence still sees...
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25Wednesday September, 2024
- Computer security expert Harri Hursti hacks voting machine in live podcast
All electronic voting systems are hackable, computer security expert and white-hat hacker Harri Hursti says. Hursti then hacks into a...
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30Monday September, 2024
- Digital forensic expert: Dominion can remotely grant ‘Belgrade’ undetected access
A noted computer security expert testifies in court that Dominion can remotely access election systems machines and software, without detection,...
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07Monday October, 2024
- 30 days before election, U.S. intelligence still isn’t looking at foreign manipulation of voting tech
A public statement by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows that the United States still is not...
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07Monday October, 2024
- ODNI: ‘China is not seeking to influence the presidential election’
In its unclassified election security update thirty days before Election Day, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence states...
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09Wednesday October, 2024
- Report: Smartmatic ‘secretly’ licensed software to Venezuela regime after saying it had cut ties
Contrary to its public statements, Smartmatic “secretly” provided software to run the Venezuelan regime’s 2017 and 2018 elections, in a...
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10Thursday October, 2024
- Anderson Cooper asks Dominion’s John Poulos outright
When Anderson Cooper askes Dominion chief John Poulos about whether Dominion has ties to Venezuela and the ability to flip...