HART Voting Equipment Certified by the Secretary of State's Office

Denver, February 28, 2006 - Secretary of State State Gigi Dennis today announced her certification of the HART Intercivic voting system 6.0 and components for use in the 2006 elections. The decision comes after a thorough review of the voting system and its compliance with both state and federal laws.

"As the State's chief elections official, I verify that the HART equipment has met the requirements for a voting system to be certified. Colorado has a very stringent certification process and requires that all equipment certified in this state meet uniform standards and undergo rigorous scrutiny," Secretary of State Gigi Dennis said.

Newly purchased voting systems in Colorado must comply with the federal Help America Vote Act's requirements to be handicapped accessible, which will allow, for the first time, persons with disabilities to vote privately and independently. In addition, the Colorado General Assembly passed legislation in 2005 that required not only that voting systems be HAVA-compliant, but that they also be equipped with voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs).

Colorado's certification process requires that each voting system successfully complete a hardware diagnostic test, logic and accuracy test (LAT), and a post-election audit test.

"This office continues to move forward with the certification process so that Colorado can comply with federal and state mandates," Dennis added.

The Secretary of State's office anticipates certification of other vendors who have applied for state certification in the following weeks.

For more information about Colorado's certification process, visit the Secretary of State's website at www.elections.colorado.gov and click on "Voting Systems".