A former Republican election official and GOP donor has purchased Dominion Voting Systems, stating the acquisition will be pivotal in “restoring trust in our elections.”
Dominion was central to President Donald Trump and his allies’ unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Scott Leiendecker, the former director of the St. Louis City Board of Elections, who also donated $2,800 to a GOP Senate candidate in 2019, is now its owner.
Leiendecker says he changed the company’s name to “Liberty Vote,” effective immediately.
It is unclear how much Leiendecker paid for the company. The private equity fund Staple Street Capital estimated in court filings that Dominion was valued at $225 million before the 2020 election.
A press release from Leiendecker touted that Liberty Vote is “100% American-owned.” Dominion had been headquartered in Canada.
“As of today, Dominion is gone,” the release said. “Liberty Vote assumes full ownership and operational control.”
Leiendecker’s release said public confidence in the U.S. electoral process has waned and that he intends to restore it. Dominion’s election products were used by millions of Americans in 27 states last fall with no widespread claims of voter fraud.
“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 said.
Leiendecker previously founded KnowInk, which makes electronic pollbooks that are used at voting sites across the country.
CNN reports that Liberty Vote will be represented by the Logan Circle Group, which vows to fight for “America First” and conservative values. The PR company’s website features images of MAGA figures like President Donald Trump and former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Records show Leiendecker, 49, lives in a waterfront home that overlooks Bayou Saint John in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Federal Election Commission records show that Leiendecker donated $2,800 to the Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Merrill, of Alabama, in 2019. Merrill dropped out of the race before the primary, which Sen. Tommy Tuberville went on to win.
Merrill was Alabama’s secretary of state during the 2020 presidential election.
In its messy aftermath, Merrill met with the MAGA sycophant Mike Lindell for three hours to hear out his claims that there was widespread voter fraud in Alabama, reports 1819 News. Merrill told the website that Lindell had “showed him no evidence whatsoever that any votes were stolen…or that there was any election fraud in Alabama.”
Dominion has resolved defamation cases with One America News, Sidney Powell, and Rudy Giuliani, with settlements that have not been made public. Dominion still had pending defamation lawsuits against Lindell as of Thursday, as well as a suit against Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.
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