Voting technology giant Dominion Voting Systems (DVS), originally based in Toronto and a subject of unfounded conspiracy theories during the 2020 U.S. presidential election promoted by Republican Donald Trump and his associates, has been acquired.
The purchase of Dominion, which had its headquarters in Denver in recent years, was finalized by a company led by a former Republican elections official, as announced by the new entity on Thursday.
This acquisition marks a significant shift from just over two years ago. In April 2023, as a defamation lawsuit loomed, Fox Corporation and Fox News agreed to a $787.5 million US settlement and admitted to disseminating false claims about Dominion in their post-election coverage.
As of 2025, Dominion still faced legal actions related to similar issues against several individuals and entities. However, according to a recent Axios report, settlements were reached with former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudolph Giuliani, as well as with One America News Network. Dominion had previously declined to comment in response to reports about the settlement of the Giuliani lawsuit.
KnowInk, a St. Louis-based provider of electronic poll books for verifying voter information, revealed the acquisition of Dominion and the rebranding of the company as Liberty Vote. Scott Leiendecker, the owner of KnowInk and a former elections director in St. Louis, emphasized the commitment to offering election technology that emphasizes transparency through paper-based processes, a demand often raised by election conspiracy theorists.
Nearly all voting equipment in the United States, including products supplied by Dominion, already incorporates paper trails for verification purposes.
John Poulos, Dominion’s former CEO, confirmed the sale with a brief statement on Thursday: “Liberty Vote has acquired Dominion Voting Systems.” Although Poulos retained an interest in the company he co-founded, in 2018, the private equity firm Staple Street Capital acquired a significant controlling stake in a deal worth $38 million US.
The former Dominion website now redirects all traffic to libertyvote.com for information, including fact checks on its technology and the 2020 election. In a statement on the Liberty Vote site signed by Leiendecker, described as the founder and chairman, the company highlights being “100 per cent American-owned” and dedicated to rebuilding trust in electoral processes.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed in the new company’s announcement. A spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press that all the funds for the acquisition were provided by Leiendecker, and both KnowInk and Liberty Vote operate as privately held entities.
Started by Poulos and James Hoover three years after the closely contested 2000 U.S. presidential election, Dominion was established to address issues such as “hanging chads” and disputes arising from paper ballot results in Florida. Although Dominion technology was not utilized at the federal level by Elections Canada, it has been deployed in various provincial and municipal elections.
During the 2020 election, Dominion machines were in use across counties in more than 20 states within the decentralized American election administration system. Despite allegations and misinformation surrounding Dominion and Smartmatic, post-election audits revealed minimal impact on the presidential vote count.
Chris Krebs, appointed by Trump to lead the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), labeled the 2020 election as “the most secure in American history.” However, he was dismissed shortly after and faced investigations under the direction of Trump. Former Attorney General William Barr debunked claims of widespread election fraud that could have altered the outcome.
Though Trump and his supporters continue to assert that the 2020 election was rigged, subsequent recounts, reviews, and audits upheld Biden’s victory. Dominion technology was also utilized in Trump’s previous election victories in 2016 and 2024 across various jurisdictions.
Poulos stated in a 2023 60 Minutes interview that the company faced threats and harassment due to baseless allegations. In a civil trial, a former Dominion employee won a defamation case against Mike Lindell, a strong Trump supporter and founder of MyPillow.
The release from Liberty Vote pledges to reintroduce hand-marked paper ballots and align company policies with a recent executive order on voting procedures issued by Trump. The order seeks to ban voting equipment that generates paper records with barcodes or quick-response codes, which are currently in use across hundreds of counties in 19 states. Various Democratic state attorneys general, the Democratic National Committee, and civil rights and voting organizations have contested Trump’s executive order.
