Politics

FACT CHECK: Does George Soros Own The Voting Technology Firm Smartmatic?

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An image shared on Facebook more than 250 times claims billionaire George Soros owns the voting technology firm Smartmatic that allegedly operates voting machines in 15 states and D.C.

“I will not stop searching and posting information to help my follow [sic] Citizens who love our Country and our freedom,” reads part of the accompanying caption.

Verdict: False

Soros does not own Smartmatic and is only loosely connected to the company through its chairman. Samira Saba, communications director for the company, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the firm’s only U.S. client is Los Angeles County.

Fact Check:

The viral image alludes to a years-old conspiracy theory that Soros, a philanthropist and Democratic megadonor, influences American elections through his involvement in Smartmatic, a firm that specializes in building and implementing electronic voting systems. Smartmatic has operated in 25 countries, including the U.S., where the firm has provided election equipment and technical support in some areas since 2005, according to its website.

However, Soros does not and has never had any ownership stake in the voting technology firm, according to a statement on the company’s website. The only connection between Soros and Smartmatic is its chairman, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown. He has worked with Soros in the past and sits on the global board of Soros’s Open Society Foundations, an organization that funds “building inclusive and vibrant democracies.”

Smartmatic emphasizes on its website that it is “100% privately owned” and has “no ties to political parties or groups in any country.”

During the 2005 and 2006 election cycles, the firm sold around 60,000 U.S.-certified electronic voting devices that were used in 15 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Its voting machines were also used in D.C. during that time period.

Smartmatic operates one voting system in Los Angeles County that was recently used in the state’s March 3 presidential primary. Saba confirmed to the DCNF that Los Angeles County is their only U.S. client.

This isn’t the first time the billionaire philanthropist has been the subject of an online conspiracy theory. One such theory claims he was a Nazi officer during World War II, while another claims that he organized and funded the 2018 migrant caravan that attempted to enter the U.S. Both have been thoroughly disproven.