Denver Auditor Dennis Gallagher sent a letter Wednesday to the head of the Denver Election Commission raising questions about the commission’s $460,000 contract with Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sequoia Voting Systems.
Gallagher, who is refusing to sign the contract until his concerns are resolved, wants to know why the commission decided to limit the liability of Sequoia if the 80 voting machines the city is buying from the firm malfunction.
He also said an election commission employee who recently married a Sequoia representative may have a conflict of interest.
The election commission denied any conflicts and said it has a 50-year working relationship with the vendor.
The contract in question specifies that the city cannot recoup any liability beyond the $460,000 amount of the contract.
“Given the concerns related to performance issues of Sequoia and their voting machines and software, it would seem imprudent to waive or cap liability when the potential for great harm exists,” Gallagher said in his letter.
Denis Berckefeldt, the auditor’s spokesman, said such a waiver is unusual for city contracts.
Gallagher also said in his letter that he’s heard allegations that an election commission employee, whom the auditor did not name, may have “a direct personal or marital relationship” with a representative of Sequoia.
Matt Crane, the commission’s interim operations director, recently married Lisa Crane, a trainer with the local Sequoia office.
Crane was on his honeymoon in Rome with his new wife and could not be reached for comment.
Election commission officials denied any impropriety in the handling of the contract or by Crane.
“Sequoia has provided election machines to Denver for more than 50 years to the satisfaction of this agency,” said Alton Dillard II, the commission’s interim executive director, in a letter back to Gallagher.
“Our good working relationship with Sequoia and the astronomical costs associated with trying to integrate the technology of more than one vendor were also factors in the decision,” he said.
Dillard and Wayne Vaden, an election commissioner, said Crane took no official action on Sequoia’s contract and only passed recommendations from his technical support staff about the contract to commissioners.
Crane’s wife is involved in technical support and is not involved in management or sales for Sequoia, said Michelle Shafer, a spokeswoman for the firm. Shafer added that Sequoia officials will meet with the city auditor Monday to go over his concerns.
The contract involves the purchase of new voting machines that are accessible to people with disabilities. The city is under a federal mandate to have the new machines for the Aug. 8 primaries. The machines also will comply with a new state mandate that requires an audit trail of votes that are cast.
The City Council still is considering a separate contract to purchase an additional 160 voting machines for $830,000. The commission’s contract to buy the 80 machines did not go before the City Council because that contract was less than $500,000 and therefore did not require council approval.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-820-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
