Half of America’s Voting Machines Now Owned by a MAGA Oligarch
They told us elections were rigged. Then they cloned stolen voting software. Then they bought the voting machines.
They told us elections were rigged. Then they cloned stolen voting software. Then they bought the voting machines.
Scott Leiendecker, a longtime Republican operative with deep ties to Trump’s political network, already controlled the only digital pollbooks (that are literally just giant iPads) used to verify voter identities across much of the country through his company KNOWiNK.
That alone gave him massive influence over who even gets in the door to vote in many places. Where used, it gives his company “gatekeeper” powers deciding who gets in and who does not.
Now, after acquiring Dominion Voting Systems — which he is renaming to ‘Liberty Vote’ — he controls the voting machines used in over half of America.
In his first official statement after acquiring Dominion, Leiendecker pledged he will follow Trump’s executive order, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” from March.
This is how autocracies are built. Control the rules, control the tools, declare the outcome. It’s not a conspiracy theory. It’s a business model.
The Save Act 2.0
Despite the name, that executive order was not written to uphold election integrity. It’s just the infamous SAVE Act, rebranded and shoved through the Oval Office because they haven’t been able to pass it through Congress.
Scott Leiendecker is eager to be the first in line to enforce Trumps new unconstitutional ‘rules’ from this order into our elections.
Never mind the fact that a federal judge has blocked parts of it already, and election experts say it is unconstitutional.
See, the SAVE Act got a lot of attention in the media because it will take away eligible Americans’ ability to vote because it requires in-person registration with specific documentary proof of citizenship (like a passport or State ID + birth certificate) that millions of citizens lack. State ID alone is not enough. 47 states don’t print “U.S. citizen” anywhere on them.
21.8 million people do not have access to a secondary form of identification. That is 9% of eligible voters.
Eligible Voter Purges
Trump’s executive order also says the Department of Homeland Security, working with DOGE, will review every state’s voter registration list.
They are instructed to analyze it, cross-check it against federal immigration databases, and demand state records, even by subpoena if needed.
And if election boards don’t comply and give them your private voting records? They’ll try to sue for them. Possibly even criminally charge them. And they’ve filed lawsuits already.
They say it’s to check for “consistency with federal law.”
But in practice, this is about building a federal system to purge voters. That’s why they’re pushing so hard for states to give the federal government voter rolls.
Voter roll purges are a practice the GOP has done over & over again. They’ve done it in Georgia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, and Texas. And more.
So, if your name doesn’t match their spreadsheet just right? You could be purged from a voter roll. Lose your ability to vote in the election.
You wouldn’t be notified before. You would find out only when you try to vote.
I highly encourage everyone reading this to search up their states non-partisan voter protection hotline number, and have that number written down when you go to vote in the coming election. This will be your advocate.
Even more disturbing, when I looked into KNOWiNK — the company Leiendecker built to run voter verification for our elections — I found that one town (Oak Grove) had raised safety concerns, and made the legal choice to go back to paper.
Instead of support, they got threats of felony charges from officials.
All because they didn’t want to rely on Leiendeckers ‘Poll-Pads’ with blaring cybersecurity flaws? If you have to coerce people into using a product, there’s something wrong. Seriously wrong.
Project Minnesota first raised serious concerns about KNOWiNK’s electronic poll pads, which are used in over 71 counties across Minnesota, and 37 states nationwide.
See, these iPads connect to the internet and transmit voter data in real time, creating what the project describes as a vulnerability for “precision cheating” at the precinct level. That doesn’t mean hacking an entire election at once.
It means using tools like KNOWiNK’s poll pads to make small, targeted changes in real time.
Because these devices are connected to the internet, update in real time, and are linked to state voter rolls, someone with access could quietly flag certain voters as inactive, delay their check-in, or assign them the wrong ballot — all without leaving an obvious trace.
These systems also allow for real-time data syncing with third-party apps, which raises serious concerns about backdoor access and manipulation.
When a system can talk to the outside world during an election, the door is open for strategic disruptions, data wipes, or subtle mismatches that add up to something far bigger than a glitch.
In tight races, it only takes a few dozen voters per precinct being blocked or misrouted to tip the scales. And when the same system is already laying the groundwork to purge voter rolls and restrict access for eligible voters, this becomes the final piece that completes the strategy.
These systems are expensive, opaque, and riddled with third-party access points no one seems able to audit. Project Minnesota says the answer is simple: go back to paper. Because paper doesn’t lie.
Paper Ballots Are Good, Right?
Even Leiendecker knows paper is best. Which is why Liberty Vote says it will implement the use of paper ballots, and even said in their press release that they’ll have third party audits.
Which sounds fantastic. These are both two tried and true ways of making sure elections are fair and free.
Well, that’s until you find out that the Republican National Committee (RNC), has been quietly funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into preparing “election integrity teams” to show up at polling places to conduct surveillance, and do third party audits & hand counts.
The third party being themselves. Naturally. And they’re still inviting people to sign up to join their team, all whilst bragging they’re over 100,000 people strong.
The Republican National Lawyers Association is hosting CLEs and volunteer sign-ups specifically for VA/NJ 2025 “election integrity operations.”
That’s the legal muscle for audits, challenges, and records fights.
According to the GOP website, the RNC sent out these “teams” last year, too. But this coming election cycle, remember, they are following Trumps “new rules.”
They aren’t legal, but the rules are but that’s exactly what these “integrity teams” will be watching and attempting to enforce.
If a foreign government had this level of control over our elections, we’d call it an act of war. But because it’s a team of Trump allies, we’re told it’s legal.
Ask yourself this: do you really want the Republican National Committee’s “election integrity” team handling your ballot? These are not neutral observers.
These are trained operatives with a political agenda, sent in to “watch,” to audit, and to challenge — not to protect democracy, but to control it.
And while they loudly demand paper ballots — which they claim are more secure — they quietly lock in digital voter verification through devices like KNOWiNK’s poll pads.
The same devices now under fire for internet connectivity, real-time syncing, and vulnerabilities to “precision cheating” that can delay, misroute, or misclassify voters without a trace.
So why the contradiction? Why paper on the back end, but digital control up front? It’s simple. Paper makes the process look legitimate. But digital lets them control who gets in the door, and who gets turned away.
As Stalin once said, “It’s not who votes that matters. It’s who counts the votes.”
Where This Leaves Us
They told us the elections were rigged. Then they stole copies of the software that runs the machines. Then they bought the machines. Then they bought the check-in system. Then they wrote the rules. Then they started purging voters. Then they started showing up with surveillance teams and calling it integrity.
Scott Leiendecker now controls the machines that verify who gets to vote and the machines that count those votes. He says he’ll enforce Trump’s new executive order, even though parts of it have already been blocked by a federal judge. The RNC says they’ll show up to “audit” and make sure your vote meets Trumps standards.
This isn’t a theory. It’s happening. The infrastructure is already in place. The purge lists are already being built. The “auditors” are already registering.
And the person who decides if you get a ballot, and whether that ballot gets counted, just happens to be the same man, backed by the same machine, promising to follow the same illegal order.
And he has voting machines in 37 states and growing.
They didn’t need tanks. They don’t need the insurrection act, but I’m sure that’s the not something they’ve ruled out. All they needed contracts, code, and silence.
Because if they can control who votes, how the votes are counted, and who gets to audit the results then we’re not talking about democracy anymore. We’re talking about a simulation. One where the outcome was never in your hands.
And if we let this slide, we won’t just lose one election. We’ll lose the ability to choose anything at all.
So what can you do?
Start local. This machine works because it is hidden in plain sight, buried in your county board of elections, your city council meetings, and your statehouse back rooms. Show up. Speak up. Demand paper poll books. Demand real audits. Demand transparency in every contract involving KNOWiNK, Dominion (Now Liberty Vote), or any private vendor.
Call your county election office. Ask them directly: Are you using KNOWiNK poll pads? Are you using Dominion/Liberty Vote machines? Who supplies them? Are audits conducted by independent groups or insiders? You have the right to know.
Join your local board of elections. Every county has one. Many seats are left empty. They are counting on your absence. Fill the seat.
Become an election worker or observer. The only way to see what happens at the door, at the machines, and in the counting rooms is to be there. If they want surveillance, return the favor.
Screenshot everything. If you or someone you know is purged, delayed, given the wrong ballot, or sees a machine malfunction, document it. This system survives by burying the evidence.
Know your rights. Look up your state’s voter protection hotline and save the number. Write it down. Share it. Call immediately if something goes wrong when you try to vote.
Organize. Do not just vote. Help others check their registration now and again before Election Day. If someone is purged, act fast. Many of these purges are happening in real time
Blow the whistle. If you are inside these systems, whether in tech, in government, or at a contractor office, and you see something, say something. Do it safely. Do it legally. Do it now. You can always contact me here, or securely on Signal at @DissentinBloom.78
A Quick Note From The Author
Targeting the elections has always been part of the plan. It’s right there in Project 2025. The Heritage Foundation laid the groundwork long ago.
There’s too much to unpack in just one article, but I’m not stopping here.
I’ll keep covering this and everything else they don’t want you to see & I will continue to hold anyone and everyone complicit in this system accountable. I’ve been writing on elections all year, and I’m not stopping now. You can read my other articles on election integrity by clicking here.
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Either way it goes, thank you for being here and reading this today. Knowledge is resistance.
— Love, Dissent in Bloom
I'm an election worker in GA and have been since 2020, so I'm familiar with Dominion equipment and these poll pads. I've started reading a lot about the vulnerability of Dominion machines which I previously thought were secure since they print a paper ballot. Here's a long read that is worth the time. It really opened my eyes. Dissent, tank you for all the digging you do. We need people like you.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23846675-halderman-report/
Thank you for this very important article. I did already write my reps about this, but even though they're Democrats, they only responded with form letters.