Episode Overview

Episode Title: How The Sale Of A Voting Machine Company Could Affect 2026 Midterm Elections
Podcast: The NPR Politics Podcast
Date: October 20, 2025
Hosts/Reporters: Deepa Shivaram, Miles Parks
Guest: Benta Berkland (Colorado Public Radio)
Main Theme:
An in-depth look at the recent sale of Dominion Voting Systems (now "Liberty Vote")—a company at the center of election integrity debates—and how this change, including the messaging and ownership, might impact trust and the conduct of the 2026 midterm elections.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Controversial Legacy of Dominion Voting Systems

• Dominion was at the heart of 2020 election conspiracy theories: After Donald Trump's loss, various false claims circulated—such as Dominion’s supposed connections to Venezuela or software "switching" votes from GOP to Democrats. None were proven true.
  • “There were any number of conspiracy theories... The bottom line is that the various conspiracy theories around this company after 2020, none of them were ever proven true.” – Miles Parks [01:44]
• Impact of conspiracy theories: Defamation lawsuits resulted in massive settlements: $787 million from Fox News, $67 million from Newsmax.
• Now rebranded as Liberty Vote, Dominion has a new owner—Scott Leyendecker, a Republican and former election official.
• The sale and rebrand were announced in a press release using politicized language:
  • Press release quote: “As of today, Dominion is gone… we are turning the page and beginning the vital work of restoring faith in American elections.”
  • Local election clerks discovered the sale via media reports, contributing to mistrust and confusion.

Communication Divide: Public vs. Clerks

• Mixed messaging:
  • Public narrative: Dramatic break from the past, aimed at “restoring faith”—often appealing to those skeptical of elections.
  • Internal messaging: “Same team, same support, new name” – attempting to reassure clerks that nothing substantial is changing.
• Clerks felt blindsided:
  • Many were not informed beforehand, leading to concern and confusion at a local level.
  • Benta Berkland reports clerks wanting facts, not panic:
    • “To them, kind of blindsided by this sale and wonder what's going on. They had a lot of questions.” – Benta Berkland [03:19]

Who is the New Owner?

• Scott Leyendecker:
  • Republican, former St. Louis election official.
  • Entrepreneur behind Know, Inc.—the leading vendor for voter check-in technologies.
  • Did not provide comment to NPR for the episode.
  • His background and the press release wording sparked skepticism and some new conspiracy theories, especially from left-leaning circles.

What’s Actually Changed?

• Mostly branding; little operational impact:
  • Existing contracts (multi-year) remain in place; laws and audits remain unchanged.
  • Election officials, like Molly Fitzpatrick (Boulder County, CO), stress that audits and security protocols persist:
    • “It would take multiple bad actors working together and breaking multiple security protocols and multiple laws in order to do something nefarious... That has not changed.” – Molly Fitzpatrick [06:14]
• Main concern: Perceived rather than real change driving misinformation.
• Clerks' attitude: Wait, watch, and if the new ownership threatens reliability, consider switching vendors in the future.

Oversight, Transparency, & Audits

• Private companies like Liberty Vote are central to election infrastructure.
• Election security experts urge “radical transparency.”
  • “Radical transparency is really required in the world of elections. Anything less is doing a disservice.” – Doug Jones, retired computer science professor [10:24]
  • Elections should be auditable regardless of vendor: “If we're doing elections right, the devil himself could make the voting systems and we could still hold naught.” (citing Stanford’s David Dill)
• Paper ballots and robust post-election audits remain the backbone of trust in election results.
• Healthy skepticism versus destructive suspicion:
  • “A little bit of skepticism, healthy skepticism, as long as you're willing to then look at the audits and say, okay, no, this was proven true.” – Miles Parks [10:55]
  • Over-skepticism breeds conspiracy and misinformation.

Misinformation and Political Dynamics

• Conspiracies remain more common on the right, but left-wing fears rising:
  • “We have not seen election conspiracy theories take off to the same degree on the left so far as on the right… A big reason for that is candidates and people with big megaphones on the left have not really echoed them...” – Miles Parks [11:35]
• Clerks are hearing concerns from liberal voters worried about a 'GOP takeover' of elections.
  • “That's probably one of the biggest questions I've overall gotten—is are we going to continue to have elections?” – Voter question relayed by Tiffany Lee, La Plata County Clerk [12:47]
• Clerks see the rebrand as a profit-motivated decision rather than a political plot:
  • “This is just business for Scott Leyendecker… he is hoping that by rebranding it… will help him be able to sell it to conservative jurisdictions...” – Miles Parks [13:03]
  • Audits and transparency are reassuring clerks that underlying security remains.

Colorado’s Unique Position

• Colorado is a leader in election audits and transparency—but also an epicenter for election disinformation:
  • Dominion was headquartered in Denver, a fact seized upon by conspiracy theorists.
  • Despite robust audits, heightened mistrust persists—and even triggered violence:
    • Incident in July: Attempted firebombing of a county elections office targeting Dominion machines.
    • “It destroyed the office. So… just shows that this is still on the minds of a lot of people.” – Benta Berkland [14:16]
• Ongoing vigilance required, especially with 2026 midterms approaching.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The bottom line is that the various conspiracy theories around this company after 2020, none of them were ever proven true.” – Miles Parks [01:44]
• “You kind of have two different stories being told. One to the public… and then another story being told to the clerks, which is basically like, don't freak out. Nothing's actually changing.” – Miles Parks [03:40]
• “It would take multiple bad actors working together and breaking multiple security protocols and multiple laws in order to do something nefarious… That has not changed.” – Molly Fitzpatrick, Boulder County Clerk [06:14]
• “Radical transparency is really required in the world of elections. Anything less is doing a disservice.” – Doug Jones [10:24]
• “If we're doing elections right, the devil himself could make the voting systems and we could still hold naught.” – Miles Parks, quoting David Dill [10:39]
• “The clerks I've talked to are very concerned that this sale doesn't lead to any disinformation on the left.” – Benta Berkland [12:26]
• “This is just business for Scott Leyendecker… And I guess that, I mean, that is less scary if there are audits… as opposed to a real change in the core of the company's values.” – Miles Parks [13:03]
• “Even in July of this year, there was a man… arrested for firebombing the county clerk's office. He targeted the room where the Dominion voting machines were stored.” – Benta Berkland [14:16]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:44] – Recap of 2020 Dominion conspiracy theories, defamation settlements
• [03:19] – Clerks’ reaction to the rebrand and sale
• [04:34] – Background on Scott Leyendecker, the new owner
• [05:21] – What, if anything, actually changes for voters and election clerks
• [06:14] – Boulder County Clerk on maintaining security and transparency
• [10:24] – Doug Jones on the necessity of radical transparency
• [11:35] – Discussion of partisan conspiracy theories and narrative drivers
• [12:47] – Clerks fielding new fears from liberal voters about the sale
• [14:16] – Colorado’s unique challenges and recent arson incident targeting voting machines

Summary Takeaways

• The sale of Dominion (now Liberty Vote) stokes latent anxieties on both sides of the political aisle—but has little practical impact on security or voting processes for the 2026 midterms.
• Robust audits, existing contracts, and election transparency are vital bulwarks against both mistrust and misinformation.
• The main risk is not operational change, but the perception of change fueling new conspiracy theories.
• Ongoing, nonpartisan oversight and communication are crucial to maintaining public trust as polarized narratives continue to swirl around the machinery of American democracy.