Voting Machines in 16 States Tied to George Soros Ally

Soros's political track record raises concerns over conflict of interest

Philanthropist George Soros greets U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) after she introduced him at the Take Back America Conference in Washington on June 3, 2004. Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images

Concerns are being raised over ties between George Soros, a billionaire and political activist with deep ties to Hillary Clinton, and an electronic voting company with machines in 16 states. The chairman of the London-based company, Smartmatic International, is Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, who also works under Soros.

Malloch-Brown is on the board of the Open Society Foundations, run by Soros. His brief biography on the Smartmatic website says he was also formerly the vice chairman of Soros’s Investment Funds and of Soros’s Open Society Foundations.

In the five days up to Oct. 26, a White House petition that calls on Congress to hold an emergency session about removing the Smartmatic voting machines received more than 71,000 signatures.

According to a two-part report released in September by the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a cybersecurity think tank, one of the easiest and most effective ways to alter the outcome of an election would be to gain access to a company that controls the voting machines. For example, a code to change how machines weigh how votes are counted could be installed by a software update. The script could be programmed so that it self-deletes at a set time.

The report also notes that electronic voting machine companies do not perform extensive background checks for employees, contractors, or interns. “Any employee, contractor, or intern could be an insider threat capable of altering the hardware, firmware, or software of e-voting systems,” the report states. 

“With physical access to a machine for less than a minute and for less than $15, a system can be compromised.”

Soros has a long history of financing left-wing organizations, and according to Politico, has provided close to $25 million to super PACs and other organizations that support Clinton and her campaign.

In addition to financial support for Clinton, emails from both Soros and the Clinton campaign published by WikiLeaks and DCLeaks detail their communications and ties.

In emails from January 2011, Soros gave foreign policy directives to Clinton on how to handle unrest in Albania. Emails from October 2014, with recipients including top Clinton aide Huma Abedin and John Podesta (the founder in 2003 of the Soros-funded Center for American Progress and currently Clinton’s campaign manager), show how the Clinton campaign went out of its way to “make Soros happy.”

Soros is also known for making large donations to push his political goals.

The Denver Post reported on Oct. 12 that Soros is “pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars” into a negative ad campaign against incumbent District Attorney Pete Weir, a Republican, in the race for one of Colorado’s 22 districts.

In September, The Associated Press reported that Soros gave $300,000 to a political group opposing the reelection of Joe Arpaio for sheriff in Maricopa County, Ariz.

Also in Arizona, a new political committee linked to Soros is being accused of violating Arizona election laws. The AP reported that an attorney representing Republican incumbent Bill Montgomery’s reelection in Maricopa County filed a campaign finance complaint against the Soros-funded Arizona Safety & Justice.

It states, “Soros has been spending millions of dollars this year to support Democrats in prosecutor races around the country and all but one of his favored candidates have won.”

Malloch-Brown has also not been secretive about his political views. Like Soros, he has supported many left-wing issues, and is a strong advocate for globalism—a position he describes in detail in his 2012 book, “The Unfinished Global Revolution.”

Smartmatic provides technology for governments around the world used in smart cities, public records, and electronic voting systems. According to its website, it has offered technology and services to electoral commissions in 307 U.S. counties in 16 states.

These include swing states like Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which could determine the outcome of the election.