Are voting machines in 2016 election really owned by George Soros?

Rumours are spreading across the Internet that voting machines used in many US States during the 2016 presidential election are owned by (or as deep ties to) George Soros, a prolific Clinton donor, and thus they are likely rigged to select the Democrat candidate (Clinton) despite voters opting for the Republican candidate (Trump.)

An example of one message being disseminated across social media reads –

On election day, if your voting machine is a SmartMatic brand, DEMAND a paper ballot. George Soro’s now owns SmartMatic. You have the right to require a paper ballot, and under FEDERAL LAW the polling place MUST provide one for you. Don’t throw your vote away.”

To briefly surmise the article –

What’s true:

– George Soros is a prolific Hillary Clinton donor

What’s false:

– George Soros owns or has any stake in Smartmatic or any company that produces or maintains voting machines.

– Smartmatic have voting machines used in the general election in 16 states. (They actually have a grand total of zero machines being used in the 2016 presidential election.)

~

Claims that Soros owns and operates voting machines and thus the machines are rigged to favour the democratic candidate in an election are not new or original. However they are baseless, since the rumours rely on significantly overstating George Soros’ relationship with any company that produces machines used for election purposes.

The 2016 variety of rumours assert that Soros either partly owns or has “deep ties” to a company called Smartmatic, a company headquartered in London. However Soros does not have any ownership stake with Smartmatic and his closest tie to the company is that the company chairman – Lord Mark Malloch-Brown sits on one of the 22 boards belonging to the Open Society Foundation which Soros founded. Given the number of businessmen sitting on any of these 22 boards, that tie is rather tenuous at best.

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But most importantly, that is irrelevant, since Smartmatic – despite the claims in many rumours – do not operate any machines used in the 2016 US presidential election. They dispelled a few rumours on their site here –

Smartmatic will not be deploying its technology in any U.S. county for the upcoming 2016 U.S. Presidential elections.

Of course, any readers sceptical of that claim can verify that no Smartmatic owned machines are present at their local voting stations by speaking with staff there.

If you notice any discrepancies or errors with a voting machine when you place your vote (for whatever candidate you choose) you are encouraged to speak to staff who will address any problems or issues that may arise.