#john poulos

Alayna Treene and Marshall Cohen at CNN:

Dominion Voting Systems, the election vendor that was falsely accused of rigging the 2020 election, is being sold and rebranded as Liberty Vote effective immediately. Scott Leiendecker, the founder of a Missouri-based election technology company who previously served as the Republican director for the St. Louis City Board of Elections, purchased the company this week for an undisclosed sum, according to a press release.

“As of today, Dominion is gone. Liberty Vote assumes full ownership and operational control,” the press release reads. Leiendecker says he wants to use the renamed company to restore public confidence in the US electoral process. Liberty Now also vows to be bipartisan as it works to reshape Dominion’s image. Dominion’s election products were used by millions of US voters across 27 states last year. Dominion’s founder and CEO, John Poulos, confirmed in a one-sentence statement provided to CNN on Thursday that, “Liberty Vote has acquired Dominion Voting Systems.” The company’s new owner laid out four goals, many of which align with the Trump administration, that they argue will restore trust in US elections, the main being a heavy emphasis on using paper ballots. “Liberty Vote 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,” Leiendecker says.

[...]

MAGA-friendly moves?

The press release from Liberty Vote references some buzzwords that have been championed by the pro-Trump “election integrity” community. For instance, its emphasis on increasing the use of “hand-marked paper ballots” aligns with Trump’s longstanding push to move to 100% paper ballots. This talking point has perplexed election officials for years, because, as CNN has previously reported, more than 98% of American voters already live in jurisdictions that produce fully auditable paper trails. The Liberty Vote announcement also says its actions will be in “compliance with President Trump’s executive order,” signed earlier this year, on election integrity. Parts of that order have already been blocked by a federal judge, and leading election experts have said the order is likely unconstitutional. The new company says one of its other priorities will be to facilitate third-party auditing of their election systems. Right-wing “election integrity” activists have promoted outside audits, most famously in Arizona after 2020, as a way to hunt for supposed fraud. Nonpartisan studies have repeatedly found that voter fraud is extraordinarily rare in US elections — and most states already conduct internal post-election audits.

Dominion Voting Systems, one of the two major election vendors that were the subject of MAGA election denialist lies, is being acquired by Liberty Vote.

He didn't directly address its arguments, but claimed the show was part of a plot against him.

That’s the part I like!

“You’re wrong!”

“Let’s argue the merits of my position.”

“No! You’re wrong!”

“Okay, here’s our facts. Where would you like to begin?”

“Nowhere! You’re wrong!”

“What do you offer in rebuttal?”

“Nothing! You’re wrong!”

“You’re not making sense.”

“Sure is mellow, Glad that I'm her fellow, and I know that she knocks me off my feet – Have mercy on me!”