Reply #3: USA: “Meet the Vendors” – Voting Machine Company Leaders!

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Michelle Shafer is not head of Sequoia Voting Systems which was acquired by Smartmatic, a Venezuelian company. She’s got quite a record for responsiveness to voters, like blaming them for lousy voting machines. Welcome Michelle!



http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051205/20051205005911.html?.v=1

Press Release Source: Sequoia Voting Systems

Michelle Shafer Joins Sequoia Voting Systems as Vice President, Communications and External Affairs/h3]
Monday December 5, 2:50 pm ET

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2005--Michelle Shafer has joined Sequoia Voting Systems as the company's Vice President, Communications and External Affairs where she will be responsible for public relations, government affairs, customer relations and external communications strategies for the company.

Shafer is joining Sequoia after nearly a decade working for election technology provider Hart InterCivic in various marketing and communications positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as Director of Corporate Communications and Special Projects. Shafer is replacing Alfie Charles who recently accepted a position outside the elections industry after several years of important contributions to Sequoia as well as to the industry as a whole.

"We are very excited to have Michelle join the Sequoia team," said Jack A. Blaine, President of Sequoia Voting Systems. "We have both witnessed and admired Michelle's excellent work in the elections industry and her experience and know-how will be a major asset to Sequoia Voting Systems."

Shafer has a B.A. degree from Fordham University in New York City and is currently serving in the elected capacity of Secretary of the Election Technology Council (ETC), an election industry trade association under the umbrella of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA).

About Michelle Shafer

E-Voting Machines and Arrogance
http://mfeldstein.com/index.php/weblog/comments/204/

Wired is running a deeply disturbing story on problems with electronic voting machines. I won’t run through the litany of problems here, but I do want to point out a particularly heinous quote from one of the manufacturers:

Michelle Shafer, spokeswoman for Hart InterCivic, said the problem that occurred in Texas with her company’s machines were caused by voters rather than by the machines. The Hart machines are not touch-screen machines but instead use a wheel that voters turn to make their selections. Shafer said after choosing the straight-party option, many voters turned the wheel to manually go through the races and click their choices individually to emphasize them, not realizing that in doing so they de-selected their choices. Shafer said they probably then mistakenly moved the wheel to select a candidate from another party.


“It’s not a machine issue,” Shafer said. “It’s voters not properly following the instructions."