[37] Currently, Dominion provides optical scan paper ballot tabulation systems for provincial elections, including Ontario and New Brunswick. Lindell told reporters that he was unconcerned with the ruling as "I've got lawyers doing more important things like removing these machines from every state. No proof has emerged to support the unnamed man's claims against Dominion and Smartmatic. [1] The company's headquarters are in Toronto, Ontario, where it was founded, and Denver, Colorado. Tweets. [46][47], Dominion's architecture was also widely used in the 2018 Ontario municipal elections on October 22, 2018, particularly for online voting. She has kept a report on a theoretical voting machine flaw authored by a respected computer researchersecret since last summer, citing concerns that releasing the report would fuel conspiracy. [7][8][9] There was no evidence supporting these claims, which have been debunked by various groups including election technology experts, government and voting industry officials, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The audit came days after the release of a report purporting that Dominion Voting Systems software used in Antrim County was "intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to . The image is exported to a laptop and then printed on blank paper to provide a ballot record. "Noforeign national directly or indirectly owns or controls the company," the statement reads. US federal district court in Washington D.C. [117] Fox's recent replacement of its outside legal team with one of the nation's most prominent trial lawyers was seen as "a sign that executives believe that the chances the case is headed to trial have increased". That has led to calls for ES&S and its competitors, Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems and Austin, Texas-based Hart Intercivic, to reveal details about their ownership and the origins of the parts, some of which come from China, that make up their machines. [119], Dominion's lawyer, Mary Kathryn Sammons, told a Federal court on September 16, 2022, that Mike Lindell was still repeating the same baseless claims against the company: "The problem here is the lawsuit is based on the public figures making very public lies about Dominion. The results are dropped into a folder located on the server where they can be accessed by the Adjudication Client software. The employee received death threats as a result, and a noose was found hanging outside his home. As the case was entering the discovery stage, she expressed concern that Lindell would not abide by the rules of non-disclosure. [66] In one of their lawsuits, Dominion explained they had spent $565,000 on security as a result. [68], On December 22, 2020, lawyers representing Eric Coomer, Dominion's director of product strategy and security (who had been forced to go into hiding due to death threats), filed a defamation lawsuit on his behalf in the state of Colorado. 1. [127], Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, problems with the reporting of tabulator counts, Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, National Association of State Election Directors, National Association of Secretaries of State, Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy, Smartmatic 2020 presidential election and defamation lawsuits, Fox News controversies False claims about the 2020 election. It said any confusion would be resolved by tallying by hand. CEO Tom Burt talks with Cynthia McFadden of NBC News. [26], In 2018, Dominion was acquired by its management and Staple Street Capital, a private equity firm. By John Bresnahan. In total, 28states used Dominion voting machines to tabulate their votes during the 2020 United States presidential election, including most of the swing states. [98] Angelo Carusone of Media Matters for America told reporters that as 90% of OAN's revenue came from DirecTV that the company will not survive through Dominion's lawsuit against it, but will "be wiped out from the litigation costs. In the video, the man acknowledges that Chvez is dead but claims his family still owns Dominion and that Chvez started the software company. Industry: Information Technology Support Services. He did everything in his power, physical strength, and sleepless nights down the stretch for America. Officials in Maryland and North Carolina have started questioning voting machine makers about potential foreign ownership. Signature verification on mail-in ballots in Arizona, including Maricopa County, is required under state law and per the state's election procedures manual. Wyden said he was concerned by the companys foreign parts supply and was working on legislation to limit it. Preface; Surgical Vaccine: Should Male Circumcision Be Mandatory in Sub-Saharan Africa; Medical Ethics in Obstetrics: A French Experiment; The 'Real World' of Ethical Decision-Mak by DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS CORPORATION, DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS, INC., US DOMINION, INC.. (Attachments: #1 Declaration of Rodney A. Smolla, #2 Text of Proposed Order)(Clare, Thomas) June 23, 2021: Set/Reset Hearings: Motion Hearing RESET for 6/24/2021 at 02:00 PM in Courtroom 30A before Judge Carl J. Nichols. [3] The company maintains headquarters in Toronto and in Denver, Colorado. 'Crazy Stuff. [22] The company develops proprietary software in-house and sells electronic voting hardware and software, including voting machines and tabulators, in the U.S. and Canada and employs a development team in its Serbian office. [115] According to Kushner, he spoke to Rupert Murdoch on election night 2020 after Fox News reported that the electoral votes for Arizona had been won by Joe Biden. Chris Wlaschin, head of systems security for ES&S, said at a Homeland Security cybersecurity summit in Washington in September that the companys machines are not prone to a remote attack over the internet. 10/2-3, 2019. [107], On July 11, 2022, the court docket for the case showed that Dominion had issued a subpoena to former Attorney General William Barr. [124], In early December 2022, the Delaware Superior Court filed notice that Lachlan Murdoch would be deposed under oath at a Los Angeles law firm. The lawsuit, which asked for $1.3 billion in damages, alleged, "MyPillow's defamatory marketing campaignwith promo codes like 'FightforTrump', '45', 'Proof', and 'QAnon'has increased MyPillow sales by 3040% and continues duping people into redirecting their election-lie outrage into pillow purchases." "[90] They held that she was obviously just expressing an opinion, but not one motivated by malice as "She believed the allegations then and she believes them now. New questions about voting machines as 2020 election approaches, a letter asking them to disclose a range of such information, invested in a Maryland election services firm. [83] The suit against Powell had been filed on January 8, 2021, but those employed by Dominion were only able to serve her the summons on January 28, 2021. ES&S said it conducts quality assurance tests on the machines. This story has been updated to correct Martha MacCallum's first name. In today's election market, Dominion Voting Systems sets itself apart with a commitment to customer service, convenience, and a superior use of . That explains the sustained embrace of unsustainable claims, Dominion's legal team argues. When it comes down to the essentials, voting machine makers behave based on the level of regulation they have, Perez said. She went on to say that the continuing lies have resulted in continued threats of violence against the company. The claims about interference and fraud from the campaign's supporters range from Sharpies invalidating conservative voter's ballotsin Arizona to Hugo Chvez the deceased former president of Venezuela owning part of Dominion Voting Systems, whose machines are used in 28 states. Dominion products have been increasingly used in the United States in recent years. [110] By July 13, 2022, Kleinhendler withdrew from the team. Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott told colleagues privately "not to give the crazies an inch." Unfortunately, the lies have continued." Dominion Voting was discovered to not only have been used in Antrim County but in more than 40 additional counties in the state of Michigan. He said that his personal address had been posted online, as had those of everyone from his parents and siblings to ex-girlfriends. Federal cybersecurity officials have verified there are software vulnerabilities in certain ballot-marking devices made by Dominion Voting Systems, discovered during a controversial Georgia. Some components (such as surface mount capacitors, resistors, inductors and fixed logic devices) may be sourced from China-based manufacturers, the letter said, referring to basic circuitry components. In preparing for this November's election, the . The company offered to pay for an independent auditor to verify that all the investors are Americans. [125] Previously Fox's lawyers had stated that any efforts to depose the Murdochs and put them at the center of the case would just be a "fruitless fishing expedition". Fox News host Lou Dobbs had been outspoken during his program about the accusations, and on December 18 his program aired a video segment refuting the accusations, though Dobbs himself did not comment. ", "Posts falsify ties between election tech firm and Democrats", "Smartmatic does not own Dominion Voting Systems", "Networks airing side firms in fraud claims", "Giuliani's fantasy parade of false voter-fraud claims", "Did a Dominion Voting Systems Employee Brag About Rigging the Election Against Trump? An activation card is required for use, which is provided by a poll worker. "[8], During the 2021 German federal election, the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy found that accusations of Dominion engaging in voter fraud were common among German far-right users of Telegram, despite the company's technology not being used in German elections. [122][123], On December 5, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case, Kevin ORourke, et al., v. Dominion Voting Systems, Inc., et al., rejected by lower courts. Each adjudicated ballot is marked with the username of the poll worker who made the change. Washington, D.C. - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced today that Terri McCullough, Chief of Staff in her Congressional office and an advisor on policy affecting women and families, will be leaving to serve as Executive Director of the Tory Burch Foundation in New York. In December 2020 and January 2021, Fox News, Fox Business, Newsmax, and the American Thinker withdrew allegations they had reported about Dominion and Smartmatic after one or both companies threatened legal action for defamation. The sworn deposition of an anonymous witness who said he was a former member of the Venezuelan presidential security team and accused Dominion of committing election fraud in the U.S. All of these allegations have been disproven. ", Eddie Perez, board member at the OSET Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan outfit advocating for reliable and transparent election technology, calls the claims about Dominion that were amplified by Fox hosts and peddled by its guests "outlandish. "Dominion and other voting system manufacturers submit extensive company disclosures to federal and state authorities as terms of product testing and system certification.". Lindell told The New York Times, "I would really welcome them to sue me because I have all the evidence against them". Dominion Voting Systems filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Fox News, which has as its parent company the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp NWSA, claiming the news organization spread false information . However, 51 of the province's municipalities had their elections impacted when the company's colocation centre provider imposed an unauthorized bandwidth cap due to the massive increase in voting traffic in the early evening, thus making it impossible for many voters to cast their vote at peak voting time. In mid-December 2020, Perez appeared on Fox as an expert for an awkward segment in which he was interviewed by an off-camera producer to debunk claims made on the network about a second voting technology company called Smartmatic. Company profile page for Dominion Voting Systems Corp including stock price, company news, press releases, executives, board members, and contact information Dominion Voting Systems (DVS) sells electronic voting systems hardware and software, including voting machines and tabulators, in the United States and Canada. Dominion also provides ballot tabulation and voting systems for Canada's major party leadership elections, including those of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party of Canada, and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Two additional days of functional testing on [83] These included "hiring private investigators and pursuing Powell across state lines", and while evading being served, she "refused to respond to requests" offering waivers that could have given her more time to react to the complaint. [120], It was announced on October 3, 2022, that the Supreme Court of the United States had declined Mike Lindell's appeal against Judge Carl Nichols' ruling; allowing Dominion's case to proceed. [100], Andrew Parker, a lawyer for My Pillow, Inc., on April 18, 2022, filed a countersuit in Minnesota asserting that Dominion is a governmental actor due to contracting with state and local agencies and that it had violated the company's rights under the First and Fourteenth amendment as well as inflicting "tortious interference with prospective business using today's cancel culture to eliminate dissent and to cover up the election issues that compromised the 2020 result". Kevin Monahan is a producer for the NBC News Investigative Unit. Lawyers with no involvement in the case pointed to statements on Fox's airwaves that they say gave the Trump camp far too much credence for far too long to claim a mere journalistic sensibility. Here are four key things to know about Dominion, the voting machine manufacturer that is causing such a stir. Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. [51], Trump and others also made unsubstantiated claims that Dominion had close ties to the Clinton family or other Democrats. "Fox's journalists and managers were repeatedly told the stories about the voting machine were false, over a period of weeks," Lucy Dalglish, the dean of the University of Maryland Merrill College of Journalism, writes in an email for this story. The chief executive officer of Dominion Voting Systems on Thursday did not rule out taking legal action against President Donald Trump as the election technology company has been the target. The secrecy of ES&S and its competitors has pushed politicians to seek information on security, oversight, finances and ownership. 03/08/2019 04:07 PM EST. The host further acknowledged that Smartmatic is not owned by any foreign entity, nor is it connected to George Soros, as had been alleged. Terri has always met and exceeded my expectations in terms of. The sworn deposition of an anonymous witness who said he was a former member of the Venezuelan presidential security team and accused Dominion of committing. Dominion Voting Systems Corporation is a company that produces and sells electronic voting hardware and software, including voting machines and tabulators, in Canada and the United States. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, March 04, 1854, Image 4, brought to you by Library of Congress, Washington, DC, and the National Digital Newspaper Program. ImageCast Evolution is an optical scan tabulator designed for use in voting precincts that scans and tabulates marked paper ballots. More: Fact check: Viral photo shows fake logo and slogan for Dominion Voting Systems. The investigative journalist found an odd link as a group linked directly to Soros also works in that building. [103] On June 21, 2022, Judge Davis also denied Fox Corporation's motion to dismiss the suit by Dominion Voting Systems. [17][18], In court documents, Dominion's legal team, out of "professional courtesy", stated that they would not oppose the request of Powell's legal team for more time to prepare, but noted that she had "evaded service of process for weeks", forcing them to "incur unnecessary expenses" to serve her with the lawsuit. [11][12][13][14] In January 2021, Dominion filed defamation lawsuits against former Trump campaign lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, seeking $1.3 billion in damages from each. Further, Fox's attorneys say many of the claims under dispute were true, or largely true. Dominion was founded in Canada in 2003 and its majority owner is Staple Street Capital, which is based in New York. 67% of employees would recommend working at Dominion Voting Systems to a friend and 54% have a positive outlook for the business. [55][56] These accusations of a connection between Dominion and Smartmatic were made on conservative television outlets, and Smartmatic sent them a letter demanding a retraction and threatening legal action. ES&S machines underwent eight weeks of vulnerability testing and penetration by government hackers. [38][39][40], Ontario was the first Canadian province to use Dominion's tabulator machines in select municipalities in the 2006 municipal elections. He held that Dominion had shown that the company's chairman, Rupert Murdoch, and his son, CEO Lachlan Murdoch, may have acted with "actual malice" by directing the network to broadcast the conspiracy theory despite having been notified that it was false as a business calculation in order to stem plummeting viewership. President Donald Trump on Tuesday shared a tweet showing a campaign donation from Dominion Voting Systems to an "anti-Trump Republican PAC" prior to the 2020 presidential elections. McCarthy Group did not respond to NBC News requests for comment. [33][failed verification], The Election Management System (EMS) includes a set of applications that handle pre- and post-voting activities, including ballot layout, programming media for voting equipment, generation of audio files, importing results data, and accumulating and reporting results. [79][80], Dominion sent My Pillow CEO and Trump supporter Mike Lindell a letter in January 2021 stating, "you have positioned yourself as a prominent leader of the ongoing misinformation campaign" and that "litigation regarding these issues is imminent". [52] There is no evidence for any of these claims, which have been debunked by various groups including election technology experts, government and voting industry officials, and the CISA. Only a glimpse of that has come into public view. ", Fox's Jeanine Pirro is back in the hot seat in $1.6 billion election defamation case, anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum pushed McDaniel repeatedly, part of a lawsuit filed by the attorney and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Lin Wood, to have his mental fitness evaluated as it weighed a complaint seeking to strip him of his license to practice law. In those documents, Fox's attorneys offer "omitted context" for the seemingly incendiary remarks by such hosts as Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo, as well as their featured guests, including Trump and his former campaign attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. A new level of scrutiny of the election system, spurred by Russias interference in the 2016 election, has put ES&S in the political spotlight. Cynthia McFadden is the senior legal and investigative correspondent for NBC News. They are repeatedly labeled 'inherently improbable' and even 'impossible'. Published Nov 8, 2020. In countering Dominion, Fox's lawyers offer a chart of offending statements and what it termed the "omitted context" that could explain why the material was newsworthy, why the Fox hosts' treatment of it was responsible, and then why it was not defamatory. In glass-walled rooms etched with the companys patents, technicians tested machines under tight security. The government delegated to them the most important governmental function, mainly counting votes in a presidential election. And they are therefore subject to criticism in the exact same ways that the government would be subject to criticism in that situation. [69] The filing stated that the "false and baseless" claims against him have caused "immense injury to Dr. Coomer's reputation, professional standing, safety, and privacy". Dominion's election management system will run on Windows 10, mitigating concerns from election security advocates about voting systems that use Windows 7, an operating system that. [7][8][9] Within days after the election, the Trump campaign had prepared an internal memo on several of the allegations against Dominion, and found them to be baseless. "They instantly didn't stand up to the light of day.". [82] One of Dominion's attorneys explained they had filed the lawsuit against Powell first "because she's been the most prolific and in many ways has been the originator of these false statements". Click under Exam Date for examiner reports. [32], Dominion is the second-largest seller of voting machines in the United States. [94], On August 10, 2021, Dominion announced that they were suing conservative news channels OANN and Newsmax, plus former Overstock.com CEO Patrick M. [119], On February 16, 2023, Dominion Voting Systems filed a motion for summary judgment against Fox News, with dozens of internal communications,[126] sent during the months after the 2020 presidential election, showing several prominent network hosts and senior executivesincluding chairman Murdoch and CEO Suzanne Scottdiscussing their knowledge that the election fraud allegations they were reporting were false. "[99], On April 12, 2022, Delaware state court judge Eric Davis scheduled the date for the jury trial for the defamation lawsuit against Fox News to begin on April 17, 2023, and set aside five weeks for proceedings. Dominion Voting Systems, which makes software and hardware for election officials to use around the country, is at the center of baseless claims that say "glitches" from its machines caused . [92] A Fox News motion to dismiss the suit was denied on December 16, 2021, by a Delaware Superior Court judge. So Say Fox's Lawyers, Fox News CEO warned against 'crazies' after 2020 election, Dominion says, didn't believe the claims of fraud "for one second. Senator Steve Daines and five Republican state attorney generals (including Ken Paxton and Patrick Morrisey), DirecTV dropped One America News (OAN) from its channel lineup on April 5, 2022. Coomer also said that Oltmann had falsely claimed in a podcast that Coomer had participated in a September 2020 conference call with members of antifa, and that during the call he had said, "Don't worry about the election, Trump is not gonna win. The News Corp. building in New York City, home to Fox News. Eddie Perez, global director of technology development for the Open Source Election Technology Institute, a nonprofit election technology research group with which NBC News has partnered since 2016, said the lack of oversight is problematic. On Nov. 7, 2020, the Associated Press, the New York Times, Fox News . They had also recently issued subpoenas to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; Christopher Krebbs, the former director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; and Benjamin Hovland, the former chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.