You’ve probably seen the name Dominion Voting Systems splashed across every major news cycle for the better part of the last six years. It became a household name for all the wrong reasons, caught in a whirlwind of lawsuits, high-stakes settlements, and wild conspiracy theories that just wouldn't quit. Honestly, the drama was so intense it felt like a political thriller. But behind the headlines and the $787.5 million Fox News settlement, there is a very real, very specific ownership structure that has undergone a massive shift recently.
If you’re still thinking about who owns Dominion Voting Systems in terms of the old guard, you’re actually out of date.
The company that spent years fending off claims about Venezuelan ghosts and secret algorithms has officially entered a brand-new era. In late 2025, a major acquisition fundamentally changed the face of the company. It’s no longer the private equity-backed firm headquartered in Denver and Toronto that it used to be.
The Big Shakeup: Liberty Vote Takes the Reins
In October 2025, a bombshell hit the election technology world. Dominion Voting Systems was acquired by a new entity called Liberty Vote.
The move was a shocker. Liberty Vote is a St. Louis-based company led by Scott Leiendecker. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the guy who founded KNOWiNK, the company that basically runs the electronic poll book market in the U.S. Leiendecker isn't just some corporate suit; he’s a former Republican elections director from St. Louis.
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When the deal closed, Leiendecker didn’t hold back. He famously declared, “As of today, Dominion is gone.” He wasn't talking about the machines themselves—those are still in warehouses and precincts across 30 states—but rather the brand and the baggage that came with it.
Why the Change Happened
Dominion was stuck. After the 2020 election, the brand was toxic in half the country. Even though they won their court cases and proved the "rigging" claims were nonsense, the name was a liability.
Leiendecker saw an opportunity. By buying the tech and rebranding it under the Liberty Vote banner, he’s trying to bridge a gap that felt impossible to fix. He’s promising:
- 100% American ownership (no more Canadian co-founders or Serbian dev offices).
- A focus on hand-marked paper ballots.
- Total transparency to win back the "skeptical" side of the aisle.
The Private Equity Era: Staple Street Capital
Before the 2025 sale, the answer to who owns Dominion Voting Systems was much more about Wall Street. For most of its modern history, the majority owner was Staple Street Capital, a New York-based private equity firm.
Staple Street bought a 76% controlling stake in Dominion back in 2018. At the time, they paid roughly $38 million. It seemed like a boring, stable investment in a niche industry with high barriers to entry. Then 2020 happened.
Suddenly, Staple Street co-founders Stephen Owens and Hootan Yaghoobzadeh—both veterans of massive firms like The Carlyle Group and Cerberus—found themselves in the crosshairs. They weren't just managing a portfolio; they were fighting for the company's survival.
The payout for them was ultimately historic. When Fox News settled for nearly $800 million in 2023, Staple Street saw a return on investment that was, frankly, insane—estimated at over 1,400%. But despite the cash, the operational headache was massive. The 2025 sale to Liberty Vote allowed Staple Street to exit the political firestorm for good.
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The Founder: John Poulos
You can’t talk about ownership without mentioning John Poulos. He’s the Canadian electrical engineer who started the company in a Toronto basement in 2002.
For a long time, Poulos was the face of the company. He’s the one who had to testify before Congress and sit for the 60 Minutes interviews. Up until the Liberty Vote acquisition, Poulos held a 12% stake in the company. The rest was split among other management members and smaller investors like PennantPark Investment.
Poulos recently confirmed the sale to Liberty Vote in a very brief statement, marking the end of his two-decade run at the helm. It’s a bit of a "end of an era" moment for a guy who started out just wanting to help people with disabilities vote more easily.
Addressing the "Foreign Interference" Rumors
Let’s be real: a huge reason people search for who owns Dominion Voting Systems is because of the rumors about foreign ties.
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For years, the internet was convinced that George Soros, the Clintons, or the Venezuelan government owned the company. None of that was true.
- The Soros Myth: While one of Soros's associates, Mark Malloch-Brown, was involved with a different company called Smartmatic, he never had an ownership stake in Dominion.
- The Venezuelan Connection: People often confused Dominion with Smartmatic, which did have roots in Venezuela. Dominion, however, never used Smartmatic software or had any ties to Hugo Chavez.
- The Canadian Factor: Yes, it was founded in Canada. Yes, Poulos is Canadian. But the company moved its headquarters to Denver years ago and is now, under Liberty Vote, entirely U.S.-owned.
What This Means for Future Elections
So, now that Scott Leiendecker and Liberty Vote own the assets, what actually changes?
If you live in a county that uses these machines, you probably won't see a difference in the hardware this year. The California Secretary of State and other election officials have already clarified that the "certification" stays with the machines, not the owners. The software is the same. The scanners are the same.
What's changing is the political optics.
Leiendecker is banking on his Republican credentials to calm the waters. He's leaning into the "hand-marked paper ballot" movement, which is a big deal for people who don't trust digital touchscreens. By shifting the focus to paper trails and "100% American" branding, Liberty Vote is trying to make the voting machine a boring piece of office equipment again.
What You Should Keep an Eye On
If you want to stay informed about how this ownership change affects your local area, there are a few practical steps to take:
- Check Your Local Contract: Election equipment contracts are public record. Look up your county clerk’s website to see if they’ve updated their agreement since the Liberty Vote takeover.
- Verify Certification: Ensure any "new" software updates are certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Ownership changes often lead to new software versions that must pass rigorous federal and state testing.
- Attend a Logic and Accuracy Test: Most counties hold public sessions before an election where they run test ballots through the machines. It’s the best way to see the "Dominion-turned-Liberty" tech in action without the filter of social media.
The saga of who owns the machines that count our votes has finally moved from the courtroom back to the corporate boardroom. Whether the rebrand to Liberty Vote actually restores the "faith" Leiendecker is chasing remains to be seen, but the era of private equity dominance over Dominion is officially over.