KnowInk, the St. Louis company whose election technology was used in nearly a third of the nation's counties last year, has expanded that market by buying a South Dakota firm.
The acquisition of BPro, announced Monday, adds 450 jurisdictions to the 980 already using KnowInk's Poll Pad system. The companies said BPro's TotalVote system also adds capabilities in voter registration, list maintenance, campaign finance and vote reporting.
BPro is based in Fort Pierre, South Dakota. Its owner, Brandon Campea, plans to remain with KnowInk. BPro has contracts with 10 states and with local officials in six other states.
KnowInk, founded in 2011 by former St. Louis election official Scott Leiendecker, is based in downtown west. It received a significant investment, reported to be more than $10 million, in November from Clayton-based private equity firm Hermann Cos., and Leiendecker said at the time that he planned to use the money for acquisitions.