'Fixed' Elections?
Clark Registrar Hit With Suit

Clark County Voting Registrar Kathryn Ferguson should be removed from office and the voting machines her office purchased should be disqualified, says a federal lawsuit filed Friday by a Republican congressional candidate.
The Sequoia Pacific DRE machines used by Clark County not only allow the 'fixing' of elections but also were fraudulently purchased by Ferguson's office, says Pat McMillan, a former U.S. Intelligence officer who is seeking the GOP nomination for Nevada's District 2 race.
Clark County for the last several years has been beset by controversy over alleged corruption in its vote-registration and balloting processes.
"In violation of Nevada law," said McMillan, the purchase "was not put out for open bid, and considerably less expensive systems with the checks and balances needed to assure honest voting ... were frozen out of the competition for the purchase."
The Sequoia machine, he said, "was not properly tested or certified for verification of tamper protection" and "was purchased after federal election laws prohibited its sale for its failure to comply with Federal Election Commission standards.
"The main point of the suit," said McMillan,
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"is that without a paper trail to show how each ballot was cast, [this model machine] does not comply with Nevada and Federal election laws providing for a recount if the outcome of the vote is challenged.
"There have been recent elections were it was found that operators of the device have caused it to register some votes ... favored by the [machine] operators, regardless of the candidate chosen by the voter.
"In other words, elections can be - and have been - 'fixed' using the Sequoia." Registrar Ferguson, said McMillan, "should be removed from office for a number of reasons, including violation of Nevada oath and bonding laws." He said she "has consistently acted to thwart the attempts of concerned voters and candidates to view the ballot handling, counting, and canvansing procedures,"
Ferguson could not be reached for comment.

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