As of Monday, the Election Assistance Commission -- an "independent, bipartisan commission whose mission is to help election officials improve the administration of elections and help Americans participate in the voting process" -- has a new "senior subject matter expert." Heider Garcia and his hiring are raising questions about how he was selected and vetted for the post.
Garcia's past work includes — according to sworn testimony given to the Senate Judiciary Committee — serving as the elections administrator in Tarrant County, Texas, the elections manager in Placer County, California, and working on "several election projects in different locations around the world, including Venezuela, Curacao, and The Philippines" while employed for more than a decade in the private sector by Smartmatic.
But Garcia, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, abruptly announced he'd be resigning from his post in Tarrant County in April citing "differing ideas for running transparent elections as the reason for his departure," but continued his tenure until June according to his public LinkedIn page.
According to Philippine news outlet GMA, Garcia was among a group of individuals against which a 2016 "hold departure order" was sought from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to prevent them "from leaving the country for their alleged role in the controversial script change in the Comelec [Philippines Commission on Elections] transparency server that receives precinct-level votes."
In a letter dated June 2, election watchdog "Mata sa Balota" urged BI Commissioner Ronaldo Geron to issue a hold departure order (HDO) against the following personalities:
- Cesar Flores -Smartmatic-TIM president for Southeast Asia
- Heider Garcia- Smartmatic official
- Marlon Garcia - Smartmatic Philippines project manager
- Elie Moreno - Smartmatic project director
- Neil Banigued- Smartmatic technical support member
- Mauricio Herrera - Smartmatic technical support member
- Andres Kapunan- Smartmatic Mindanao
- Rouie Peñalba- Comelec IT personnel
- Nelson Herrera - Comelec IT personnel
- Frances Mae Gonzales- Comelec IT personnel
The group said these people are facing several criminal and administrative complaints filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, Manila Prosecutor's Office. They are also under investigation by the Comelec. –GMA News
GMA News explained that the BI "has no power to restrict the travel of a person unless a court, upon finding probable cause to set the case for trial, orders them to do so" but quoted Smartmatic assurances that "none of its officials have the intention of leaving the Philippines while the Comelec investigation is ongoing."
Ultimately, according ABS-CBN, the Philippine Department of Justice "ordered the indictment of several Smartmatic and Commission on Elections (Comelec) personnel for changing the script in the election transparency server on election night during the May 2016 national and local polls" in June 2016, but Garcia was not charged under the country's Cybercrime Prevention Act that was used to charge other Smartmatic employees involved in the election.
Via ABS-CBN:
Ordered charged in court for violations of Republic Act No. 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act, are Marlon Garcia, head of the Smartmatic Technical Support Team, his subordinates Neil Baniqued and Mauricio Herrera, and Comelec information technology personnel Rouie Peñalba, Nelson Herrera, and Frances Mae Gonzales.
They were ordered charged specifically for illegal access, data interference, and system interference, all penalized under Section 4 (a) (1), (3), and (4) of the law.
Still, U.S. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) wants to know "why would we hire someone who was investigated for election tampering in another country."
Who hired Heider Garcia at the Elections Assistance Commission? Why would we hire someone who was investigated for election tampering in another country, and has a questionable history from Tarrant County, TX? https://t.co/w4x2RWxyBp
— Congressman Bob Good (@RepBobGood) July 17, 2023