# What are these Dominion Voting Machines? (Fox News and Dominion have settled for $787.5 million) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 30, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845 "2020-11-30T18:43:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/161 "2023-04-21T16:15:16Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > According to other analysis I’ve read, you (assuming you’re an American taxpayer) will pay about $200M of the settlement. How so? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/162 "2023-04-21T16:25:12Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > So, where does the $787 million come from? Does FoxNews (and other media outlets) have insurance for stuff like that? Would it cover such a huge award? Does FoxNews just have an account sitting around with that much moolah doing nothing much? Surely that account would be in gold coins or other precious metals. Great question and I am wondering that as well. Does it just go to their AP department and do they just cut a check to Dominion? How long do they get to pay up? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/163 "2023-04-21T16:45:01Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > > > According to other analysis I’ve read, you (assuming you’re an American taxpayer) will pay about $200M of the settlement. > > How so? Fox deducts the $787M settlement as a business expense on their income taxes. And therefore pays about $200M less on their income taxes. Therefore all the rest of us make up that Federal revenue shortfall versus what would have happened had Fox never defamed anyone and therefore never settled the case that would never have happened. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/164 "2023-04-21T16:49:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Fox deducts the $787M settlement as a business expense on their income taxes. And therefore pays about $200M less on their income taxes. True, but Dominion will probably have to pay taxes on the amount they recovered from Fox. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/165 "2023-04-21T17:38:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > What, overpricing maple syrup? You’d have to ask the Donald but I suspect it has to do in part with the lower Canadian dollar & universal Medicare giving some manufacturing labour cost advantages. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/166 "2023-04-21T17:42:41Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Pulaski County AR has scanners we feed our ballots to. Perhaps the Canadian officials scan ballots at some other location. Every time I’ve voted, the process was to poke the folded ballot through a slot into the ballot box after the poll worker tears off a little ID number. I’ve never seen any machines in the polling place. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/167 "2023-04-21T17:45:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Every time I’ve voted, the process was to poke the folded ballot through a slot into the ballot box after the poll worker tears off a little ID number. That’s how we did it years ago when we had in-person voting. Now here (Washington State) all vote is by mail, or dropping the ballot in a drop box. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/168 "2023-04-21T18:04:33Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Now here (Washington State) all vote is by mail, or dropping the ballot in a drop box. And the ballots are scannable, being filled out with ink like a ScanTron sheet. When I was in California, we’s put ballots into a holder that had the various options on different pages, and you’d poke the chad out with a stylus as seen in the picture on this page: > **[Voting Equipment Database – ES&S Votomatic](https://verifiedvoting.org/election-system/ess-votomatic/)** > > The Votomatic was the last punch card voting system used in American elections. They were last used in 2 counties in Idaho in the 2014 General Election. Punchcard systems employ a card (or cards) and a small clipboard-sized device for recording... ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/169 "2023-04-21T18:20:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > When I was in California, we’s put ballots into a holder that had the various options on different pages, and you’d poke the chad out with a stylus as seen in the picture on this page: I’m pretty sure those ballots that are also punched cards have been outlawed. Which is a good thing considering the hanging chad issue. Anyway, California does almost all their voting by mail these days. However, they do have vote centers for those who think voting by mail is communistic or otherwise un-American. But the people who vote there fill out the same ballot as those who do it at home. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/170 "2023-04-21T18:25:04Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I’m pretty sure those ballots that are also punched cards have been outlawed. Which is a good thing considering the hanging chad issue. Per the preview, they were last used in 2014. FWIW, I always made sure my ballots were clean before turning them in. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/171 "2023-04-22T19:09:11Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Every time I’ve voted, the process was to poke the folded ballot through a slot into the ballot box after the poll worker tears off a little ID number. I’ve never seen any machines in the polling place. This is how federal & provincial elections are done (only a single candidate to vote on), but for municipal elections (the only ones with multiple candidates here in Ontario), the ballot sheet goes into a folder, which the election clerk puts into a scanner that extracts the ballot, scans it, records all the votes, and drops the ballot into a locked ballot box. Big advantages of this are that the ballot is instantly rejected if there are any errors, such as a double vote or unreadable mark, so the voter can get a replacement ballot on the spot, the votes are quickly tabulated for a rapid report to the election office, and the paper is kept in case there is a need for a recount. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/172 "2023-04-22T19:14:43Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > What, overpricing maple syrup? My memory is that it was about lumber/timber. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/173 "2023-04-22T19:28:49Z")
I was close. Trees. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/174 "2023-04-22T19:32:38Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > True, but Dominion will probably have to pay taxes on the amount they recovered from Fox. Compensatory damages aren’t taxable, so probably not (presuming that Dominion’s attorneys are sufficiently on the ball to make sure the settlement is officially labelled “compensatory” rather than “punitive”). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/175 "2023-04-22T20:21:58Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Compensatory damages aren’t taxable Aren’t they? Are you sure? Why not? I mean think about it for a moment. Suppose a company makes profits of $100M. They pay taxes on that sum. The company gets libeled. As a result of that libel they lose sales. Their profits go down to $25M. So they sue and get compensation of $75M. Thus restoring their profits to $100M. Why shouldn’t they be taxed on $100M, rather than $25M? Are you sure they aren’t? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/176 "2023-04-22T20:23:04Z")
Perhaps legislators are often libeled. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/177 "2023-04-22T20:49:47Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@Steve\_MB](#): > > > > Compensatory damages aren’t taxable > > Aren’t they? Are you sure? Why not They are. Unless compensation for physical injury. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/178 "2023-04-23T01:53:52Z")
Christ, a business does not pay taxes on compensation, but an injured person does? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/179 "2023-04-23T01:55:09Z")
No. The other way around ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845/180 "2023-04-23T01:56:46Z")
Okay, thanks. I am glad to be mistaken. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-dominion-voting-machines-fox-news-and-dominion-have-settled-for-787-5-million/926845.md?page=10)