Voting-tech company settles with right-wing network over false election claims

Once more, a voting tech company has settled its defamation lawsuit over false allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election before the start of trial — in this instance, Smartmatic USA’s suit against the conservative network Newsmax.

Thursday’s settlement occurred during the jury selection process. A four-week trial was scheduled to begin in Delaware on Monday.

Neither side made details of the settlement public.

Smartmatic emailed a statement saying it is “very pleased to have secured the completion of the case against Newsmax.” The statement said Smartmatic is now shifting gears to focus on its related suits against Fox News and Fox Corp.

“Lying to the American people has consequences,” the company’s statement said. “Smartmatic will not stop until the perpetrators are held accountable.”

Lawsuits stemming from 2020 election continue

The case is just one in a flurry of lawsuits surrounding false claims about fraud in the 2020 election. In 2023, on the eve of opening arguments, Dominion Voting Systems settled a defamation case against Fox News for $787.5 million.

Dominion also is suing Newsmax in Delaware Superior Court, while Smartmatic is pursuing a case against Fox News in New York.

Smartmatic also settled a similar case against One America News Network earlier this year. The details of that settlement also remain confidential.

Two defamation cases overseen by the same judge

The size of Fox's record settlement spoke to the gravity of the recurring false claims by the network about Dominion. The presiding judge, Eric M. Davis, had already ruled that Fox News had knowingly and repeatedly defamed Dominion before the settlement. The only question before the jury was to determine actual and punitive