Staff Reports
The latest spectacle emerging from the Department of Justice highlights the shady dealings of Smartmatic, a company that has famously dabbled in voting technology—an industry that should come with a warning label for potential chaos. Last week, several of its executives, including a Venezuelan living the good life in Florida, were indicted for their roles in a corruption scandal that makes one question how far the rot runs in the election machine business.
It appears Smartmatic executives were allegedly involved in a glittering worldwide hustle that spanned from 2015 to 2018, during which they somehow managed to funnel over a million dollars in bribes. This nefarious cash flow was reportedly aimed at securing business related to the 2016 Philippine elections. Seems like what should be a straightforward operation of providing voting machines devolved into a convoluted scheme worthy of a Hollywood heist movie plot, complete with secret codes, slush funds, and dodgy contracts.
The alleged tactics used by these executives resemble the shenanigans conducted by a high school student trying to swindle his parents. Reports suggest that they created a “slush fund” by over-invoicing the voting machines and then covered their tracks using a smorgasbord of fraudulent contracts and imaginary loans. Who knew that running elections would double as an online course in Corporate Espionage 101? Perhaps, if they spent less time cooking the books and more time focusing on legitimate business practices, they wouldn’t be facing a possible 90 years behind bars.
Smartmatic’s President, Roger Pinate, who apparently decided to make a grand entrance by surrendering to authorities, has had his day in court but probably won’t be feeling generous anytime soon. He was granted an $8.5 million bond, which seems to indicate that, despite the severity of the charges, the justice system still has a knack for playing it cool. However, the consequences could be severe should he be convicted; with a life sentence looming, it could turn into a permanent vacation behind federal bars.
There's an Update on the Voting Machine Company President Who Was Indicted.
by @KatiePavlich https://t.co/4L9zCHRfn5— Billy Ray Patriot (@brb_patriot) August 15, 2024
While this unfolding drama is entertaining, it raises larger questions about the integrity of technology used in elections, especially in the U.S., where anything tied to voting carries the weight of public scrutiny. Although Smartmatic insists its machines are reliable, recent events leave many pondering whether the “smart” in Smartmatic refers to their technology or their apparently savvy methods of corporate graft. Clearly, America’s voting systems deserve a good spring cleaning, and these indictments are just one more sock in a long and dirty laundry list of concerns in the realm of election security.
