To anyone concerned about election integrity and the companies who are involved in the operation of our elections, today’s news that Runbeck Election Services has a new majority owner is likely welcome news.
Lincoln Shields, a subsidiary of Black Mountain Investment Company, acquired a majority stake in Runbeck Election Services on August 18, 2023, according to their recent announcement. The transaction will provide Runbeck with a capital infusion the company says will allow it to expand its services and offerings.
Black Mountain is an Arizona based investment firm involved in a number of different sectors of the economy. Its CEO is Mihai Toma, whose family escaped the communists in Romania. Toma’s brother Ben serves as Arizona’s Speaker of the House, and has been a vocal advocate for election integrity measures, including several he introduced himself to improve both the transparency and accountability of Arizona’s elections process. Both Speaker Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen have also supported the legal challenges launched by 2022 Attorney General nominee Abe Hamadeh.
“This is obviously good news for election reformers, because you’ve got this family that knows what the radical left is all about, and they are going to be in a position to safeguard and hopefully improve an important part of the election process.” said one excited Arizona election observer. “Imagine how bad you would feel if George Soros bought the company. Now flip it 180 degrees because the opposite just happened. That’s how good you should feel.”
According to Runbeck, they have been involved in elections since 1972 and the company’s products touch approximately 70% of voters in the United States.