Elections vendor threatens defamation suit against right wing media outlets

[gabosaurus]

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article247830580.html ----- A global elections vendor founded in South Florida is threatening to sue Fox News and other conservative media outlets for defamation unless they prominently retract unfounded reports alleging a conspiracy to rig the 2020 vote against President Donald Trump. Smartmatic, which keeps its U.S. headquarters in Boca Raton, announced Monday that it may file lawsuits against Fox News, One America News Network and Newsmax over a “concerted disinformation campaign” to claim or suggest the company was involved in an effort to steal the Nov. 3 election from Trump. All three networks have amplified baseless claims by Trump and attorneys working with his campaign that Smartmatic software was used to manipulate vote totals. “They have no evidence to support their attacks on Smartmatic because there is no evidence,” Antonio Mugica, CEO of Smartmatic, said in a statement released to the press. “This campaign was designed to defame Smartmatic and undermine legitimately conducted elections.”

[SassyLady]

I say go for it.

I think everyone and anyone that has been slandered by media should sue. Maybe that way the media will take second look at facts before airing opinions. Case in point Sandman vs. CNN.

[icansayit]

Slander and Defamation suits cannot happen as you like...NOT when using the TRUTH, and REAL, PROVEN FACTS.

Let them try. It should be interesting since the TRUTH cannot become anything but TRUTH.

[jimnyc]

I don't know how bad smartmatic is, and haven't deled too deeply into their business. But Dominion is garbage that should never have been chosen IMO, and would have at least been nice if they were ALL audited for security prior to the election. Nor do I think they should be purchasing and using machines that can be contacted remotely in any way, none. Nor machines that have the capabilities to run algorithms and other software in addition to the voting process. They are extremely problematic and have displayed as much when in use. But the potential they have and the capabilities alone should eliminate them. And now add in the amount of so called "glitches" that took place because of these machines this year & more, they need to be eliminated after this election and be a part of history. Mind you, these have now been proven to be faulty. So the many issues with these machines are there for anyone to see. I'll choose not to get into the amount of 'most likely fraud' that took place with these machines as you'll deny and say it doesn't make sense or whatever. But I have no goal to convince you of such anyway. The point is that Dominion has to go regardless of that discussion. And go quickly and badly.

As an IT geek - I am against having advanced technology used in our elections. Probably because I understand the many capabilities. And I don't trust either side. I don't trust anybody. As "House" said - everyone lies.

Now smartmatic, again, I haven't personally followed and detailed into them. I can only offer a few of the things that I have read over time. And another software and reasons as to why anything that can be "connected to" as such should never be used.

Start with going and searching and reading about the 2014 Brazilian election, which was very widely believed to have been stolen by one party. And guess what software was used and then widely complained about and accusations it was used to steal the election?

Then just a few short blurbs of history from Wikipedia. I don't necessarily care about the conclusions as the abilities.

Venezuela: 2004 elections
After the presidential recall referendum of 2004 in Venezuela, some controversy was raised about the use of electronic voting (SAES voting machines) in that country. Studies following the 2004 Venezuela recall elections found that Smartmatic's network was "bi-directional" with data being able to be transferred both ways between Smartmatic devices and the telecommunications company CANTV, with alleged irregularities found between the Smartmatic and Venezuela's National Electoral Council election results. Other independent election monitors claimed fraud and submitted appeals, and statistical evaluations including a peer-reviewed article in 2006 and a special section of 6-peer-reviewed article in 2011 concluded that it was likely that electronic election fraud had been committed. The analysis of communication patterns allowed for the hypothesis that the data in the machines could have been changed remotely, while another of the articles suggested that the outcome could have been altered from about 60% against the sitting president, to 58% for the sitting president.

Representatives from international election observation agencies attested that the election conducted using SAES was at that time fair, accurate and compliant with the accepted timing and reliability criteria. These agencies included the Carter Center, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the European Union (EU). Jennifer McCoy, Carter Center Director for the Americas, stated that several audits validated the accuracy of the machines. “We found a variation of only 0.1% between the paper receipts and the electronic results. This could be explained by voters putting the slips in the wrong ballot box”.

Dr. Tulio Alvarez, who had performed an independent observation of the election which detailed the networks between CNE and Smartmatic, described the Carter Center's findings as "insufficient, superficial and irresponsible"

2005 elections
Prior to the 2005 Venezuela parliamentary election, one technician could work around "the machine's allegedly random storage protocols" and remove voting secrecy. Since the voting systems were Windows based and only randomized data, the technician was able to download a simple software that could place Windows files in order. Following this revelation, voter turnout dropped substantially with only 25% of registered Venezuelans voting and opposition parties withdrawing from the election. This resulted in Hugo Chávez's party, as well as his allied parties, to control 100% of Venezuela's National Assembly.

2010 elections
Prior to the elections, Filipino-Americans called on President Barack Obama to investigate the background of Smartmatic prior to the elections due to its links to the Venezuelan government. Smartmatic described these actions as "trying to rehash a story based on market share". Following allegations of fraud, some employees of Smartmatic had their passports temporarily held. At a fraud inquiry on May 20, 2010, Heider Garcia of Smartmatic was questioned on the transparency and what he called "unforeseen" occurrences during the election process, with Philippine official Teodoro Locsin Jr. – an automated poll advocate – sharply rebuking Garcia. On June 29, 2010, the Philippine Computer Society (PCS) filed a complaint with the country's Ombudsman against 17 officials of the Commission on Elections and the Smartmatic-TIM Corp. for alleged “incompetence,” graft and unethical conduct.

2016 elections
Days after the May 2016 elections, Bongbong Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, alleged that Smartmatic had tampered with the votes which cost him being elected Vice President of the Philippines and criminal proceedings were filed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against Comelec personnel as well as Smartmatic employees, with Election Commissioner Rowena Guanzon stating that Smartmatic had violated protocols. After a Smartmatic employee fled the country, Bongbong Marcos accused the Comelec for his "escape", though two other Smartmatic personnel, one from Venezuela and the other from Israel, were present for criminal proceedings. In July 2016, it was reported that Smartmatic funneled votes through "unofficial servers". In an October 2016 editorial, The Manila Times called on all members of Comelec to resign due to the "innumerable controversies since its adoption of the Smartmatic-based Automated Election System".

On June 7, 2017, the Philippine Department of Justice indicted "several Smartmatic and Comelec personnel for changing the script in the election transparency server on election night during the May 2016 national and local polls". Those charged with the tampering include Marlon Garcia, the head of the Smartmatic's Technical Support Team, as well as tow other Smartmatic employees, Neil Baniqued and Mauricio Herrera, and Comelec IT employeesl Rouie Peñalba, Nelson Herrera, and Frances Mae Gonzales. The six were charged with "illegal access, data interference, and system interference" under the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

In August 2017, it was revealed that Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista was allegedly paid commissions by Divina Law while serving as chairman "for assisting the law firm clients with the Comelec". Divina Law, a firm that provides legal advice to Smartmatic. Bautista admitted that he obtained "referral fees", but denied that it was due to his position in Comelec. According to House Deputy Minority Leader Harry Roque, the incident is "a very clear case of bribery" by Smartmatic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartmatic

A LOT more than above too. At minimum, my issue is the ABILITY to be reached remotely & the ability of both of them and their processor power & algorithms.... I don't believe our election machines should be designed as such, but that's me.

[KarlMarx]

Go ahead and sue. Then the problems with these voting machines will finally get a hearing in court.