If you hadn’t heard of Dominion Voting before November, it’s very unlikely you’ve heard of much else since. The US-based provider of electoral voting technology has been at the heart of a political storm ever since President Donald Trump and members of his inner circle started alleging that Dominion’s devices had been deliberately rigged to skew the election result. Dominion CEO John Poulos has hotly denied the allegations, calling them baseless and an assault on confidence in America’s democratic process. Find out more as we run through ten things you didn’t know about John Poulos.
1. He has a degree in Electrical Engineering
Poulos studied at the University of Toronto, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He later achieved his Master’s of Business Administration from INSEAD.
2. He’s co-founder of the Delian Project
12 years after founding Dominion Voting Systems, Poulos became keen to utilize the power of automated voting technology to give disenfranchised voters a voice. The result was the Delian Project, a non-profit organization co-founded by Poulos in 2014. The project provides voting technology to emerging and post-conflict democracies. In many such countries, post-electoral violence is common due to delays in publishing electoral results. By automating and improving the electoral process, the Delian Project aims to secure safer elections.
3. He believes in giving back
Since founding Dominion, Poulos has become noted for his philanthropic endeavors. While much of his efforts are on a global scale, he’s also committed to inspiring change on a local, community level. According to ellines.com, Poulos currently works as a youth hockey coach and as a mentor to young aspiring business students. He also finds time to participate in the Young Presidents’ Organization, a networking organization of CEOs that aims to engage and inspire the young leaders of the future.
4. He founded Dominion Voting in 2002
In 2002, Poulos founded Dominion Voting Systems, a provider of electronic hardware and software that allows voters to cast their votes electronically. It also makes optical scanning devices that allow paper ballots to be tabulated. Since its inception, Dominion Voting has grown exponentially. Although the US and Canada serve as its primary market bases, its technology is now used in multiple countries across the globe.
5. He’s been awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award
Over the course of his career, Poulos has received numerous accolades. In 2010, he was named as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40, a list of influential individuals under the age of 40 who have achieved remarkable success in their chosen field. In 2013, he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award. He’s also been selected to Greek America’s 40 under 40. Dominion Voting, meanwhile, hasn’t been left out of the honors party: it’s been named to Deloitte Canada’s Fast 50 Technology Companies for four years on the trot.
6. He’s made enemies in high places
Following President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory, President Donald Trump has been on the warpath. Among his targets is Poulos. According to Trump and his inner circle, Dominion’s voting machines were deliberately manipulated to either delete votes cast for Trump, or switch Trump votes to Biden. As per usual, Trump has taken to Twitter to voice his concerns, tweeting “Dominion voting machines are a disaster all over the country.”
7. He’s been accused of systematic fraud
Dominion Voting serves 63 of the 83 counties in Michigan, a state Biden won by 154,000 votes. Included in Biden’s initial tally of wins was Antrim County, a staunchly Republican stronghold. As it turned out, a string of errors had led to Biden pulling ahead. After election workers realized there was a problem, the votes were re-counted and corrected. In the end, Trump took the county by 3,700 votes. By then, the error had already given rise to conspiracy theories and claims of electoral fraud… the vast majority of which were aimed at Dominion. Shortly after, the Allied Security Operations Group, a self-proclaimed ‘center of expertise in investigating and proving up vulnerabilities in U.S.. election equipment and reporting,’ published a report claiming that Dominion technology “is intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results.” While the group was forthcoming about the conclusions of its investigation, it’s so far declined to give any substantial or convincing information about how they came to it.
8. He’s pushing back
As detroitnews.com writes, Poulos has become a magnet for conspiracy theories about the Nov. 3 election over the past 2 months. Judging by his recent actions, he’s no longer prepared to sit quietly back and take it. Speaking before the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee, Poulos insisted there were no “switched or deleted votes” involving his company’s machines. Speaking about the theories and claims being made by Trump’s inner circle, Poulos said “The disinformation campaign being waged against Dominion defies facts or logic. To date, no one has produced credible evidence of vote fraud or vote switching on Dominion systems because these things simply have not occurred.”
9. He’s received death threats
Speaking to CNN, Poulos discussed how the conspiracy theories and allegations made against Dominion had resulted in a “complete upheaval ” of his life. He also spoke about how he and other members of Dominion had received death threats against both themselves and their families. As a result of the threats, Poulos is now in hiding. However, despite the severity of the situation from a personal perspective, his main concern is the “assault on confidence in America’s democratic process.”
10. He’s planning to sue
Poulos considers the baseless claims against Dominion to be so severe, he’s now considering launching a lawsuit against the people responsible for perpetuating the allegations. As talkingpointsmemo.com notes, Poulos has made no secret of the fact that he plans to sue multiple individuals who’ve been “promoting lies and amplifying those lies” since Election Day. When asked to confirm if he included Trump in his list of targets, Poulos responded by saying he would “be looking into absolutely everybody that has made, and repeated, and amplified false statements that have been defamatory and damaging to our company and to our election.” Asked again to confirm if this would include Trump, Poulos appeared to confirm it by stressing “we will not be overlooking anybody.” Speaking to the Daily Beast, Tom Claire, an attorney representing Dominion, confirmed that they would be looking to begin proceedings after the holiday season. “I think it’s fair to say in January we will be pulling the trigger on multiple litigation matters,” he said.
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