The phrase “voting machines lawsuit” now covers several distinct fights in American courts: defamation cases brought by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic against media outlets and public figures who spread false 2020 election claims, sanctions against lawyers who filed frivolous fraud suits, voter challenges to the security of electronic voting systems, and a pending challenge to a 2025 executive order on voting technology. Together they have produced billions in claims, one of the largest defamation settlements in U.S. history, and a string of judicial findings that the machine-rigging allegations were false.
Dominion’s Defamation Cases
Dominion Voting Systems, whose equipment was used across the country in 2020, sued a wide slate of defendants who accused it of manipulating vote totals. The targets included Fox News, Newsmax, One America News Network, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell and MyPillow, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.
Fox News: $787.5 Million Settlement
The signature case was filed in Delaware Superior Court. Dominion alleged that Fox hosts and guests repeatedly broadcast false claims that its machines had been used to steal the election. On April 18, 2023, with a jury seated and opening statements imminent, the parties announced a settlement of $787.5 million, one of the largest defamation payouts in American history.1Reuters. Dominion’s Defamation Case Against Fox Poised for Trial After Delay
Newsmax: $67 Million Settlement
Dominion sued Newsmax in Delaware Superior Court in 2021, seeking $1.6 billion. Before trial, Judge Eric Davis ruled that Newsmax had committed defamation per se in each of the 19 statements at issue, leaving only actual malice and damages for the jury.2Newsmax. Newsmax Announces Settlement with Dominion Voting Systems On August 18, 2025, the two sides announced a $67 million settlement to be paid in three installments through January 2027.3BBC News. Newsmax Settles Dominion Defamation Lawsuit Newsmax said it settled because it believed a “pattern of judicial rulings” from Judge Davis had denied it a fair trial. No apology or retraction was required.4New York Times. Newsmax, Dominion Defamation Lawsuit Settlement
Giuliani and Powell: Confidential Settlements
Dominion’s $1.3 billion suit against Rudy Giuliani, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was dismissed with prejudice in September 2025 after a confidential settlement. Financial terms were not disclosed.5New York Times. Rudy Giuliani Dominion Case Settlement6ABC News. Dominion, Rudy Giuliani Reach Confidential Settlement Reporting from October 2025 indicated that Dominion reached a similarly undisclosed settlement with attorney Sidney Powell around the same time.7Spotlight PA. Dominion Voting Systems Sale to Liberty Vote
Lindell and MyPillow: Still Pending
Dominion’s case against Mike Lindell and MyPillow remains active before Judge Carl John Nichols in the D.C. federal court. As of mid-2026, no settlement or trial has occurred, and Dominion has requested a jury trial.8CourtListener. US Dominion Inc v. My Pillow Inc
Patrick Byrne
Dominion sued former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne in the same D.C. federal court. In April 2022, Judge Nichols denied Byrne’s motion to dismiss, ruling that a reasonable jury could find he acted with actual malice.9Law360. Liberty Vote Holdings Inc. et al v. Byrne No trial date has been set.
Smartmatic’s Defamation Cases
Smartmatic, a separate voting technology company also falsely accused of rigging the 2020 election, brought its own parallel wave of suits.
Fox News: $2.7 Billion Suit Still Pending
Smartmatic sued Fox News and several individual defendants in New York state court in February 2021, seeking $2.7 billion. The case is before Justice David Cohen, with no trial date set. In late 2025 Fox asked to pause the case after federal criminal charges were filed against Smartmatic executives in an unrelated bribery matter. Justice Cohen denied the request, finding “no good cause” for a stay.10Courthouse News Service. Fox Loses Bid to Pause Smartmatic Defamation Case In May 2026, a New York appellate court modified the order to give Fox additional discovery about how the criminal case affected Smartmatic’s business but affirmed the denial of a stay.11New York Courts. Smartmatic USA Corp. v Fox Corp., 2026 NY Slip Op 02891
Newsmax and OAN: Confidential Settlements
The OAN case ended in a confidential settlement in April 2024. The Newsmax case settled confidentially in September 2024, on the day jury selection was scheduled to begin.12Forbes. Smartmatic Goes to Trial Against Newsmax Today
Lindell: Summary Judgment on Liability
On September 26, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan granted Smartmatic partial summary judgment against Mike Lindell, finding he had defamed the company. The judge identified 51 specific false statements Lindell made about Smartmatic’s supposed role in rigging the 2020 election, writing that “no reasonable trier of fact could find that any of the statements at issue are true.”13CBS News. MyPillow Founder Mike Lindell Defamed Smartmatic, Federal Judge Rules The court also granted injunctive relief under Minnesota’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.14Bloomberg Law. Smartmatic Advances Defamation Row Against MyPillow, Mike Lindell Actual malice and damages remain for trial. Smartmatic has said it will seek nine-figure damages.
Federal Bribery Charges Against Smartmatic
Smartmatic’s own legal position has grown more complicated. On October 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice returned a superseding indictment charging Smartmatic’s parent company and several current and former executives with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, alleging they funneled more than $1 million in bribes between 2015 and 2018 to a former chairman of the Philippine Commission on Elections to secure contracts for the 2016 Philippine elections.15U.S. Department of Justice. Voting Machine Company Charged in Philippine Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme Two defendants are fugitives. Smartmatic called the indictment “targeted, political, and unjust.”16CNN. Smartmatic DOJ Fox Giuliani Bribery Philippines
In March 2026, Smartmatic moved to dismiss the criminal case as a “vindictive” prosecution, alleging in the filing that Fox News had been in contact with the Justice Department about the charges and was using them to seek delays in the defamation case.17Law360. Smartmatic Moves to Toss Vindictive FCPA Prosecution Legal analysts have said the indictment gives defamation defendants a way to argue that Smartmatic’s reputational harm stems partly from the bribery scandal rather than solely from false election claims.16CNN. Smartmatic DOJ Fox Giuliani Bribery Philippines
Sanctions Against Lawyers Who Filed Fraud Suits
The election-fraud lawsuits themselves fared badly, and some ended in sanctions. In August 2021, U.S. District Judge Linda Parker in the Eastern District of Michigan issued a 110-page opinion sanctioning Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and other attorneys behind a suit seeking to overturn Michigan’s 2020 results. The attorneys were ordered to pay roughly $153,000 in legal fees to the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan and to complete 12 hours of continuing legal education.18Michigan Advance. U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Sanctions Against Lawyers for Frivolous Michigan Election Suits The Sixth Circuit affirmed, and in February 2024 the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal.
Dozens of similar suits were rejected across the country, including by judges appointed by Republican presidents. In one Arizona case, a court ordered the state Republican Party and its lawyers to pay defendants’ fees for filing suit in bad faith for the “improper purpose” of undermining election confidence.19Campaign Legal Center. Results of Lawsuits Regarding 2020 Elections
Suits Challenging Voting Machine Security
A different category of voting machines lawsuit comes from voters and advocacy groups arguing that electronic systems are themselves insecure.
Curling v. Raffensperger (Georgia)
In this long-running federal case, the Coalition for Good Governance and Georgia voters alleged that the state’s Dominion-built system was vulnerable to cyberattacks. On March 31, 2025, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg dismissed the case for lack of standing, finding the plaintiffs had not shown they were actually disenfranchised. She acknowledged “substantial concerns” about hacking vulnerability and credited the plaintiffs with exposing a “major breach” of election equipment in Coffee County after the 2020 election.20Georgia Recorder. Federal Judge Dismisses Long-Running Lawsuit That Challenged Georgia’s Electronic Voting Machine System The judge noted that the litigation helped prompt Georgia’s Senate Bill 189, which requires QR codes on paper ballots to be replaced with readable text or bubble marks by July 2026.
Banfield v. Cortes (Pennsylvania)
Pennsylvania voters sued the state in 2006 over its certification of direct-recording electronic machines, arguing they lacked a voter-verified paper trail. After early wins letting the case proceed, the Commonwealth Court granted summary judgment for the state in October 2013, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed in February 2015, ending the case without relief.21Public Interest Law Center. Banfield v. Cortes
The 2025 Executive Order and Its Challenge
On March 25, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” directing the Election Assistance Commission to amend federal voting system guidelines to bar certain technologies, including barcodes and QR codes that encode voter selections.22Verified Voting. Executive Order The League of Women Voters, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the ACLU sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing the president lacks constitutional authority over election rules. In October 2025, the court granted summary judgment permanently blocking the order’s provision requiring proof of citizenship for federal voter registration.23Brennan Center for Justice. League of Women Voters v. Trump Other provisions, including those on voting technology, remain in litigation.
Dominion Is Now Liberty Vote
In October 2025, Dominion Voting Systems was acquired by Liberty Vote, a new company created and privately financed by Scott Leiendecker, a former Republican election director in St. Louis. The business now operates under the Liberty Vote name, though its hardware, software, and existing jurisdiction contracts are unchanged.24Votebeat. Dominion Voting Systems Sold to Liberty Vote25OPB. Dominion Voting Systems Is Sold and Is Now Liberty Vote State election officials, including California’s Secretary of State, confirmed that existing certifications remain valid without re-testing.26California Secretary of State. County Clerk/Registrar of Voters Memorandum 25142 The pending Dominion lawsuits continue under the new corporate ownership.