Venezuelan voting machine firm leaves U.S. market.

In the aftermath of last fall's disclosures that electronic voting machines can easily be adjusted to rig an election, a new concern has been raised about their use. Smartmatic, a Venezuelan company that makes electronic voting machines widely used in American elections, is facing an investigation into its ties to the Marxist regime of Hugo Chavez. However, the company will divest itself of Sequoia Voting Systems, the company's U.S. subsidiary, ending the investigation.

The investigation by the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) came after several investigative reports, chiefly by the Miami Herald, revealed the company's ties to the Chavez regime. According to the Herald investigation, it was through a $200,000 investment in a voting software business run by Smartmatic's president that the Venezuelan voting machine firm was able to get a foothold in the market place. Though the sale of Sequoia Voting Systems will mean the end for the CFIUS investigation, Smartmatic is not yet in the clear. According to the Miami Herald, the company has been in contact with the Justice Department to deny that it "paid a bribe to secure a $91 million contract to supply electronic voting machines in Venezuela." Moreover, the Herald reports, agents from the IRS and the FBI "are investigating allegations involving tax evasion, an excessive commission to a lobbyist in Caracas and alleged death threats by Smartmatic President Antonio Mugica."