Sequoia Voting Systems

Sequoia Voting Systems was a major United States election-technology company that supplied electronic voting systems, direct-recording electronic machines, optical ballot scanners, election-management software, and voting-system support services. Based in California, the company maintained offices in Oakland, Denver, and New York City and served hundreds of American election jurisdictions. Its principal competitors included Premier Election Solutions, formerly Diebold Election Systems, and Election Systems & Software. The company developed from Mathematical Systems Corporation of Anaheim, a business associated with punched-card voting technology. After a series of ownership and corporate-reorganization changes, the voting business was separated from Diamond International in 1983 as Sequoia Pacific Systems Corporation. In 1984, Sequoia acquired the voting-machine business of AVM Corporation, an older voting-technology enterprise whose work included electronic voting-machine development. The combined business was reorganized as Sequoia Voting Systems. One of Sequoia's important products was the AVC Advantage direct-recording electronic voting machine. The machine originated in AVM's Automatic Voting Computer and was certified in several states during the 1980s before being marketed by Sequoia as the AVC Advantage in 1990. Its industrial design and relatively modern user interface helped reposition the company during a difficult period. Sequoia later expanded its portfolio through the Optech family of optical ballot scanners. In the late 1990s, it obtained intellectual-property rights connected with the Optech line after an antitrust-related restructuring involving American Information Systems, Business Records Corporation, and Election Systems & Software. Ownership changed several times. De La Rue acquired Sequoia from the Smurfit group in 2002 for a reported $23 million. On March 8, 2005, Smartmatic acquired the company. The transaction attracted scrutiny because Smartmatic was a Venezuelan-founded multinational election-technology company whose systems had been used in Venezuela's 2004 recall referendum. In November 2007, following a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States determination, Smartmatic sold Sequoia to a management group whose members held United States citizenship. Despite the divestiture, later court documents indicated that Smartmatic retained certain contractual and intellectual-property interests, including a note and rights related to some products and overseas restrictions. Sequoia's later years were marked by regulatory scrutiny, product controversies, intellectual-property litigation, and financial pressure. California election officials in 2007 identified security and structural weaknesses in Sequoia's certified voting systems, withdrawing approval while granting conditional reapproval. Florida's decision to replace touch-screen systems with optical-scan equipment after the 2000 election also affected Sequoia's installed base. In 2008, the company threatened legal action over proposed academic examination of an Advantage voting machine, prompting criticism from technology and election-security advocates. On June 4, 2010, Dominion Voting Systems acquired Sequoia's physical and intellectual assets and retained technical and sales personnel. At that point, Sequoia systems were reported to serve approximately 300 jurisdictions in 16 states, including the BPS, WinEDS, Edge, Edge2, Advantage, Insight, InsightPlus, and 400C systems. Sequoia later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2014. The brand is therefore defunct as an independent operating company, although parts of its technology and installed base became associated with Dominion.

Sequoia Voting Systems emerged from the American punched-card voting industry. Its predecessor, Mathematical Systems Corporation of Anaheim, developed a punched-card voting system positioned as an alternative to the Votomatic. Around 1970, Diamond National Corporation acquired the business. Diamond National later became Diamond International and was reorganized through the Smurfit group as part of Smurfit Diamond Packaging Corporation. In 1983, the voting business was separated as Sequoia Pacific Systems Corporation. In 1984, Sequoia acquired the voting-machine business of AVM Corporation, formerly Automatic Voting Machine Corporation. AVM had roots in voting-machine companies established in the late nineteenth century and had invested in electronic voting technology during the 1950s and later decades. Its Automatic Voting Computer became the basis for Sequoia's AVC Advantage. The machine achieved certification in several states in 1986 and 1987 and entered the market under the Sequoia name in 1990. Its industrial design received favorable contemporary attention and helped revive the company's commercial position. Sequoia broadened its scanning and election-processing activities during the 1990s. In late 1997, it obtained intellectual-property rights to the Optech family of ballot scanners from Business Records Corporation. The transaction followed United States Department of Justice antitrust action associated with the combination of American Information Systems and Business Records Corporation's Election Services Division into Election Systems & Software. Although ES&S continued servicing and selling Optech equipment to existing customers, Sequoia marketed related versions, including the Optech 400-C. This created substantial technical continuity between certain ES&S and Sequoia scanner models. In early 2002, British currency-paper and security company De La Rue acquired Sequoia from Smurfit-related ownership for a reported $23 million. After several years of losses, Sequoia was acquired by Smartmatic on March 8, 2005. Smartmatic had been founded by three Venezuelan software engineers and had developed voting hardware and software used in Venezuela's 2004 recall referendum. The Smartmatic ownership created political and national-security sensitivities in the United States. In August 2005, Jack Blaine was announced as president of both Sequoia and Smartmatic. In November 2007, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States required Smartmatic to divest Sequoia. Smartmatic sold the business to Sequoia managers who were United States citizens. The separation did not eliminate every connection between the companies. Court documents disclosed during a later attempted takeover indicated that Smartmatic held a $2 million note from SVS Holdings, the management vehicle used in the acquisition, and retained some intellectual-property rights and contractual rights affecting certain Sequoia products and overseas non-compete arrangements. The company faced increasing scrutiny over election security and reliability. In August 2007, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen reviewed Sequoia systems certified for use in the state and cited pervasive structural weaknesses and significant security concerns. Approval was withdrawn and conditionally restored. Sequoia also became associated with disputes concerning punch-card ballot quality in Palm Beach County during the 2000 United States presidential election. A 2007 investigative report alleged that manufacturing and paper-quality decisions contributed to hanging chads; the allegations were disputed and are not established here as proven findings. After Florida replaced punch-card systems with touch-screen systems following the 2000 election, the state later required counties to move to optical-scan systems. Sequoia offered to repurchase its touch-screen machines for one dollar each, but the offer was rejected. In 2008, the company objected to proposed academic testing of a Sequoia Advantage machine by Edward Felten and Andrew Appel of Princeton University, warning that examination and publication could violate contractual and intellectual-property restrictions. The dispute intensified public debate over independent security research, and Sequoia's website was subsequently taken offline after a reported hack. Sequoia also faced a patent lawsuit filed by Avante in 2006 concerning direct-recording electronic machines and optical scanners. The complaint sought sales restrictions, equipment remedies, and damages against Sequoia and other voting-system companies. In 2008, Hart InterCivic attempted a hostile takeover, while Smartmatic and Sequoia competed separately for a major Philippine election-technology contract; Sequoia was disqualified during the bidding process and Smartmatic won. On June 4, 2010, Dominion Voting Systems acquired Sequoia's physical and intellectual assets and retained technical and sales staff. Sequoia reported contracts covering roughly 300 jurisdictions in 16 states at that time. The former company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2014.

• 2014

  Chapter 11 filing

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Sequoia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

• 2010

  Dominion acquires Sequoia assets

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Dominion Voting Systems acquired Sequoia's physical and intellectual assets and retained personnel.

• 2007

  Smartmatic divests Sequoia

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  After a CFIUS determination, Smartmatic sold Sequoia to United States citizen managers.

• 2005

  Smartmatic acquisition

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Smartmatic acquired Sequoia on March 8, 2005.

• 2002

  De La Rue takes ownership

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  De La Rue acquired Sequoia from Smurfit-related ownership for a reported $23 million.

• 1997

  Optech rights transfer to Sequoia

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Sequoia obtained intellectual-property rights connected with Business Records Corporation's Optech ballot-scanner line.

• 1990

  AVC Advantage reaches the market

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Sequoia introduced the AVC Advantage direct-recording electronic voting machine, based on AVM's Automatic Voting Computer.

• 1984

  Acquisition of AVM's voting business

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Sequoia purchased AVM Corporation's voting-machine business and reorganized as Sequoia Voting Systems.

• 1983

  Sequoia Pacific Systems is spun off

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Diamond separated its punched-card voting business as Sequoia Pacific Systems Corporation.

• 1970

  Diamond National acquires the predecessor business

  [1]Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Mathematical Systems Corporation, associated with punched-card voting technology, came under Diamond National ownership.

A full-service election-technology supplier serving public-sector election jurisdictions with voting machines, optical scanners, election software, and related support. Its market position combined legacy punched-card and scanning expertise with direct-recording electronic voting systems.

• Direct-recording electronic voting machine · 1990

  AVC Advantage

  The AVC Advantage was Sequoia's principal direct-recording electronic voting machine. Derived from AVM's Automatic Voting Computer, it received certification in several states during the 1980s and was commercially introduced under the Sequoia name in 1990. Its industrial design was regarded favorably in contemporary coverage and became an important part of Sequoia's transition from legacy punched-card technology to electronic voting.

• Optical ballot scanner

  Optech 400-C

  The Optech 400-C belonged to the Optech family of optical ballot scanners. Sequoia obtained related intellectual-property rights in the late 1990s after an antitrust-related industry restructuring. The scanner line formed part of Sequoia's effort to serve jurisdictions using paper ballots and optical tabulation rather than direct-recording electronic machines.

• Electronic voting system

  Edge and Edge2

  Edge and Edge2 were electronic voting products in Sequoia's later portfolio. They were among the systems covered by the company's jurisdictional contracts and were identified in patent litigation brought by Avante. The product family represented Sequoia's continued participation in the direct-recording electronic voting market.

• Optical-scan voting system

  Insight and InsightPlus

  Insight and InsightPlus were ballot-scanning and election-tabulation systems supplied by Sequoia to public election jurisdictions. They were included among the company's deployed systems in the period before Dominion's acquisition and were also named in the Avante patent dispute.

• Election-management software

  WinEDS

  WinEDS was Sequoia's election-management and data-processing software platform. It supported election configuration, ballot and contest data, and the processing environment used with parts of Sequoia's voting-system portfolio.

• Voter-verifiable paper audit system

  VeriVote Printer

  The VeriVote Printer, also referred to as VVPAT in the cited litigation material, was a paper-verification accessory associated with electronic voting equipment. It was designed to provide a contemporaneous paper record that could be reviewed or audited alongside electronic voting records.

• 2008

  Dispute over independent security research

  Sequoia warned Professor Edward Felten that examination and publication concerning a Sequoia Advantage machine could violate contractual and intellectual-property terms. The warning drew strong criticism from technology activists and became part of the broader debate over independent testing of voting systems.

  Source

• 2008

  Sequoia website hack

  After the dispute over machine analysis, Sequoia's corporate website was reportedly hacked. The company took the site offline and removed the intrusive material.

  Source

• 2007

  California security review and conditional recertification

  California's secretary of state identified significant security weaknesses and broader structural weaknesses in Sequoia's voting system. State approval was withdrawn and then conditionally restored, creating a major regulatory and election-integrity controversy.

  Source

• 2000

  Palm Beach County hanging-chads controversy

  Sequoia became associated with allegations that poor-quality punch-card ballots supplied for Palm Beach County contributed to the hanging-chad problems of the 2000 election. A later investigative report cited former employees who alleged that paper and manufacturing processes fell outside normal specifications. These claims were reported allegations rather than established findings in the cited material.

  Source

Read more

• 2010

  Sell assets to Dominion Voting SystemsM&A

  Background

  Sequoia remained a significant supplier but was facing regulatory controversy, litigation, ownership complexity, and financial pressure.

  Action taken

  Dominion acquired Sequoia's physical and intellectual assets and retained technical and sales employees.

  Aftermath

  Sequoia's products and installed-base relationships became associated with Dominion, while the former company later entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

  Source

• 2007

  Sell the company to United States citizen managersM&A

  Background

  CFIUS determined that Smartmatic should no longer own Sequoia.

  Action taken

  Smartmatic sold Sequoia to its managers who held United States citizenship.

  Aftermath

  Later court documents indicated that Smartmatic retained certain financial, intellectual-property, and contractual interests.

  Source

• 2007

  Offer to repurchase Florida touch-screen machinesStrategy

  Background

  Florida required counties to replace touch-screen voting systems with optical-scan systems after concerns arising from the state's earlier election technology.

  Action taken

  Sequoia offered to buy back its machines for one dollar each.

  Aftermath

  Florida rejected the offer and proceeded with the replacement requirement.

  Source

• 2005

  Accept Smartmatic acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Sequoia had reportedly experienced several years of losses when Smartmatic acquired it.

  Action taken

  Smartmatic purchased Sequoia on March 8, 2005.

  Aftermath

  The ownership created United States national-security and regulatory scrutiny, ultimately leading to a required divestiture in 2007.

  Source

1. 1Sequoia Voting Systemsen.wikipedia.org