The company belonging to a former Republican election official has reportedly bought Dominion Voting Systems. The election vendor, which endured a slew of baseless MAGA conspiracy theories in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, has been acquired by a company called Liberty Vote, according to a press release from the company.
Liberty Vote is a new company that is owned by Scott Leiendecker. Leiendecker, who already owns an electronic poll book company called KNOWiNK, previously worked for the Missouri Secretary of State and later served as the Election Director of the city of St. Louis, Axios reports. In both cases, he was appointed to those positions by Matt Blunt, who—at that time—was Missouri’s secretary of state, the outlet notes. It adds that Ed Martin, who is described as “a loyal Trump surrogate,” chaired the St. Louis Board of Elections at the same time that Leiendecker served as election director.
So what has happened to Dominion? It no longer exists, according to a press release shared with Gizmodo by Liberty Vote. “As of today, Dominion is gone. Liberty Vote assumes full ownership and operational control,” the press release states.
It’s unclear how the company will change under Leiendecker’s leadership, although in statements shared with the press, the executive has offered a hopeful tone. “Today, I am proud to announce Liberty Vote — a 100% American‐owned election technology company dedicated to restoring trust in our elections,” Leiendecker said on the new company’s website. “Our mission is clear: every vote must be secure, fair, and verifiable.” He added: “Our purpose is simple: to ensure that America’s elections are secure, fair, and honest.”
In comments shared in the press release seen by Gizmodo, Leiendecker further stated that Liberty is “committed to delivering election technology that prioritizes paper-based transparency, security, and simplicity so that voters can be assured that every ballot is filled-in accurately and fairly counted.”
The statement’s emphasis on “paper-based” security is notable because President Trump has often demanded America “go back” to using paper ballots. In reality, most of the states in the U.S. already use paper ballots, with machines doing the intitial counting.
As previously noted, Dominion Voting Systems enjoyed a number of hefty financial paydays after it became the target of rightwing conspiracy theories involving the 2020 presidential election. In 2023, Fox News reached a $787 million settlement with Dominion over baseless claims that were spread on the network about election-rigging. Earlier this year, the conservative network Newsmax also agreed to pay $67 million to the company to settle a similar lawsuit. A couple of weeks ago, former New York mayor turned MAGA dope Rudy Giuliani also reportedly reached a settlement with the company as part of its $1.3 billion lawsuit against him. The terms of the settlement were confidential.
Interestingly enough, Axios reports that, as part of the recent acquisition, “Liberty officials asked Dominion to settle several other defamation lawsuits against Trump allies who attacked the company over the 2020 election results.” However, there is at least one person who still seems to be on the hook with the company. Business Insider reported Thursday that the company still appeared to be suing Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy. On Thursday, Lindell told BI that he was “not aware of any offers from Dominion or Liberty Vote to settle their legal disputes.”