Secretary of State Gigi Dennis Announces Certification of a Third Voting System

Denver, March 10, 2006 - Today Secretary of State Gigi Dennis announced the certification of Sequoia voting equipment for use in Colorado for the upcoming 2006 elections.

Sequoia Voting Systems has developed a direct record voting device with a voter verifiable paper audit trail that is compliant with federal and state certification requirements.

"I verify the Sequoia voting system has undergone thorough testing and audits and has met all the requirements of state statute," 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).

The VVPAT requirement did not make it possible for the Colorado Secretary of State's office to begin state certification until the vendors completed certification at the federal level. Federal certification of this equipment was complete in January 2006. Certification of voting equipment generally is a 30 to 60 day process, however state certification has been fast-tracked to help the counties get their equipment as quickly as possible.

"My staff and I have worked closely with the state certified vendors to make sure there is enough equipment statewide to serve all of Colorado's counties," Dennis said. "I feel confident the vendors will deliver equipment to the clerks in a timely fashion so they can test and train their equipment for the Primary election."

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.

At this time the Secretary of State's office only anticipates one other vendor to apply for state certification. The certification process will continue until all applicants have completed the certification process.

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".