Senior Technology Company Executive Jack Blaine to Take the Helm at Sequoia Voting Systems; Tracey Graham to Conclude Successful Tenure as Sequoia President in September

Business Wire, August 26, 2005

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sequoia Voting Systems is pleased to announce that Mr. Jack Blaine will serve in the dual role as President of Sequoia Voting Systems and President of Sequoia's parent company, Smartmatic. Mr. Blaine's leadership will follow the successful presidency of Tracey Graham, who has accepted the position of Managing Director within Sequoia's former parent company, De La Rue, PLC, where she will also sit on the Operating Board.

"It was an honor and a privilege to serve as president of the nation's most respected and innovative election services company during a time of unprecedented reform and improvement to the infrastructure that supports American democracy," said Graham. "I am excited for the new challenges ahead, but I will miss the sense of accomplishment and pride that is associated with every vote that is cast and counted through the use of Sequoia products and services. And of course, I will miss the unlimited opportunities that await Sequoia."

Ms. Graham will depart Sequoia on September 8, 2005.

Mr. Blaine is the former Executive Vice President of Unisys Corporation, where he also served as President of Worldwide Sales and Services. Prior to his work with Unisys, Mr. Blaine served in management roles for the Ford Motor Company. In recent years, Blaine served as President of Smartmatic as the company became the global leader in the use of verifiable electronic voting.

"Sequoia is the U.S. election services industry leader in service, support and reputation," said Blaine. "We proudly employ the industry's most dedicated and knowledgeable support team who work with so many capable state and local election officials."

"Thanks in large part to Tracey Graham's leadership, Sequoia is well positioned to support both the immediate demands of the Help America Vote Act as well as the many state requests for electronic voting equipment with voter verifiable paper records."

Sequoia-Smartmatic are proven innovators with accomplished track records in the U.S. and internationally. With nearly 100,000 DRE voting units in use and 20 million voters who have cast ballots using our VVPAT technology, Sequoia-Smartmatic has an extensive U.S. customer base, unequalled election management expertise, unique engineering depth, ultra secure device and software platforms and a strong international election presence.

About Sequoia Voting Systems and Smartmatic

Sequoia Voting Systems has provided election services and support to state and local government for more than 100 years -- dating back to the nation's first lever-based mechanical voting equipment in the 1890s. Sequoia products and services include election management software, precinct-based optical scan ballot readers, high-speed central count optical scan ballot readers, ballot layout and printing services, and full-face and paginating electronic voting equipment with optional printers that produce voter verifiable paper records.

Smartmatic, a technology company, has developed a suite of products and solutions based on the ultra-safe interconnection of all types of devices through any type of network -- known as device networking. Specifically, Smartmatic has developed a complete software and hardware infrastructure, offering solutions for banking, physical security, fleet control, and automated elections, among others.