Judge tosses voting lawsuit

RENO -- A judge has dismissed a citizen activist's lawsuit against a leading provider of electronic voting machines, saying no proof was offered that they malfunctioned.

In her complaint filed in October 2006, Patricia Axelrod of Reno claimed her vote in the 2004 general election was not counted because of a defective Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. machine.

But in a ruling issued July 17, Washoe County District Judge Jerome Polaha said state statutes cited by Axelrod gave her no standing to sue the company over an alleged lost vote.

The judge further said the alleged lost vote fails to constitute a "property interest" as claimed by Axelrod, and that Sequoia's machines have not been shown to have malfunctioned.

Michelle M. Shafer, a vice president at Oakland, Calif.-based Sequoia, hailed the ruling.

"Since the inception of this matter it has been Sequoia's belief that the claims asserted had no basis in either fact or law," Shafer said Sunday. "The court's dismissal of the lawsuit confirms this belief."

Axelrod, who acted as her own counsel, said she was undecided whether to appeal the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court.

"It's a black day for Nevada," Axelrod said. "Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, you're going to have reason to doubt the outcome of this year's election. The very same machines used in Nevada have been decertified for use by the state of California."

Last August, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified voting machines made by Sequoia and another company but said they could regain certification if they meet several new conditions.

The action came after University of California computer experts found that voting machines sold by Sequoia and two other companies were vulnerable to hackers and that voting results could be altered.

The state of Nevada was the first in the nation to use electronic voting equipment with a voter-verified paper audit trail, using Sequoia machines.

Axelrod said she found her 2004 vote was neither registered nor counted after she accessed her voting record on the county Registrar of Voter's Diebold Election Management System computer.

She said doesn't trust touch-screen technology and she seeks a return to paper ballots.

In March, Polaha dismissed Axelrod's claims against other defendants in the lawsuit, including Diebold Inc., the state of Nevada and Washoe County.