Zuck Bucks 2.0: Zuckerberg-funded group is pushing millions to influence local election commissions, report says.

The $80 million initiative launched last spring to support election commissions across the country is the latest chapter in Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s ongoing efforts to influence election commissions, according to a new report.

In April, a coalition of left-wing nonprofits led by the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL), a Chicago-based Zuckerberg-funded group, formed the United States Electoral Success Alliance, whose stated goal was to send money to election commissions. for training, equipment, consulting and other resources.

However, the Fair Election Project (HEP) released a report on Thursday with the John Locke Foundation, which describes the Alliance as “merely an extension” of CTCL’s so-called “Zuck Bucks” scheme, a term critics use to describe private funding of elections. left donors in 2020.

During the 2020 election, CTCL awarded approximately $400 million in grants to fund various works and equipment. This included ballot boxes, voting equipment, additional labor, protective gear for poll workers, and campaigns to educate the public about new voting methods, among other expenses.

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Democrats have defended the money as necessary to keep elections safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, while Republicans have noted that most of the grants were for Democratic-leaning counties. Several county states that were hit hard by Joe Biden received more Zuck Bucks donations, according to analysis by the Capital Research Center.

House Republicans in an investigation found that less than 1% of the funds were spent on personal protective equipment. Instead, according to critics, the United States Alliance for Electoral Improvement appears to be yet another attempt by Zuckerberg and CTCL to influence local elections.

“The work of the Alliance for Election Improvement is Zuck Bucks 2.0, so they avoid states that have imposed bans on private funding of election administration,” said Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity. .

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Twenty-four states have introduced bans or restrictions on private funding of local election commissions. But the Electoral Success Alliance of America is working to ingratiate itself with local chapters.

In November, the Alliance announced its first ten member offices, dubbed Electoral Centers of Excellence, including two counties in North Carolina, Brunswick and Forsyth. Other grant recipients on the list are from California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, and Nevada. More are expected to be added in the coming months.

The first offices will receive grants during the two-year period leading up to the 2024 presidential election, CTCL chief executive Tiana Epps-Johnson told The Associated Press last month.

Epps-Johnson added that grant amounts will vary depending on the size of each jurisdiction, from $50,000 for those with fewer than 5,000 registered voters to $3 million for those with more than 1 million voters.

An election commissioner packs tabulated ballots at the Maricopa County Registrar’s office November 9, 2022 in Phoenix.
(AP Photo/Matt York)

While the implications of the Alliance’s creation are yet to be seen, the HEP report says its activities show the group is working to target and influence local election commissions to promote left-wing voting politics.

HEP and the John Locke Foundation used the report to highlight documents they obtained from requests for public records that they claim show that the Alliance “is actually designed to systematically influence every aspect of election management in target offices and advance progressive voting policy.

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The report describes, for example, how, after the Alliance recruited its first members, it announced plans to start charging offices to join. The Alliance has also created “stipends” to cover these membership costs, which are instantly converted into “credits” that member offices can use to purchase services from CTCL and other Alliance partners.

“As a result, offices gain access to funds that they can spend exclusively on services provided by left-wing companies and non-profit organizations, completely outside the normal channels of government funding,” the report says. “Based on documentation obtained through the public reporting process, these services range from ‘legal’ and ‘political’ advice to public relations and recruitment and training advice.”

In exchange for grants and services, the offices are expected to provide “significant in-kind contributions” to CTCL and its partners, help the Alliance develop its programs and communicate information about its internal work, according to HEP. Such efforts are aimed in part at enabling electoral authorities to work with the Alliance to develop and implement a “plan for improvement” that can change the way each office operates.

Maricopa County election officials count ballots November 4, 2020 at the Maricopa County Registrar’s office in Phoenix.
(AP Photo/Matt York)

“Elections must be transparent and accountable to the people. Regardless of what he claims, the Alliance for Electoral Success is nothing more than a dark money-fuelled scheme to promote liberal voting policies and influence election administration in key states and localities. This was stated by the Executive Director of HEP Jason Snead.

“This report should make it clear that a ban on private funding, strict oversight and full transparency from officials are necessary to restore confidence in our electoral system and make voting easier and more difficult to fraud.”

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Alliance supporters argue that its planned investment of $80 million over five years is necessary to ensure a fair voting process.

“Every American voter, regardless of their ZIP code, should have access to a fair and credible process,” Epps-Johnson said during the launch of the Alliance. “Unfortunately, years of underinvestment mean that many local election departments often have limited capacity and training. The United States Alliance for Electoral Improvement will bring together world-class partners so that local election officials no longer have to go it alone.”

The Alliance did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the report.