“Zuck Bucks 2.0” Gears up for 2024

The same nonprofit which distributed almost $420 million in privately-funded operations and pandemic grants to election offices across the country before the 2020 election is now creating a new program for the 2024 cycle. 

The Chicago-based Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) stated its U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence It will provide $80 million in grants for local elections offices over five years, as part of what it calls a bipartisan effort. “to create a network for the nation’s thousands of local election officials … to improve their technology and processes.”

Republicans raised alarm after learning that CTCL had given private money grants to almost 2,500 county election offices in 47 states and DC for its Safe Elections Project. This included $350 million donated from Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder.

Republicans believe that CTCL actively recruited officials from traditionally Democratic counties and municipalities to join its programs. “Zuckerbucks,” Or “Zuck Bucks,” Unproportionally into Democratic-voting jurisdictions.

CTCL grants and private contributions to electoral offices were disguised as COVID-19 relief. “educating” According to conservatives, this is what drove President Joe Biden’s Democratic voter turnout and landed him in the White House.

Virginia-based Election Integrity Watchdogs Honest Elections Project (HEP), North Carolina’s John Locke Foundation, and Florida’s Foundation For Government Accountability, are again raising the alarm about CTCL—this time, a year before the election rather than months after—claiming its Alliance is a front for boosting Democratic turnout, especially in Democratic strongholds within swing states.

“No matter what it claims to be, the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence is nothing more than a dark money-fueled scheme to push liberal voting policies and influence election administration in key states,” The Epoch Times spoke with Jason Snead as the Executive Director of HEP.

“The work of the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence is ‘Zuck Bucks 2.0,’” John Locke Foundation Civitas Center for Public Integrity Director Dr. Andy Jackson stated in a statement, that the Alliance was a vehicle for promoting public integrity. “for the private funding of elections by left-wing donors.”

Jackson and Snead worked together to create Jan. 19 Zuck Bucks 2.0 report that claims CTCL’s Alliance “is focused on systematically reshaping election offices and pushing progressive voting policies,” adding, “How state and local governments respond will have ramifications for free and fair elections in 2024 and beyond.”

In the last two years, 24 GOP-led state legislatures adopted laws prohibiting or restricting private, third-party grants or other contributions that are allegedly nonpartisan. “assist” Local officials assist in the administration of elections.

With 45 of the nation’s state legislatures These proposals to ban the use of private money in elections administration are now being considered for convening in 2023 sessions. They have been filed in at most two states, and could be filed in two more.

“The pace has slowed because most of the states where (a ban) is feasible, it’s already been done,” Snead stated. “The key thing to keep in mind is the U.S. Alliance for Elections Integrity is similar to what happened in 2020, but now really is the new and improved version. It is designed to be more insidious and to exert more influence into how these offices function.”

CTCL: Centers for Election Excellence

Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, where voters cast ballots in Nevada’s June 14, 2022 primary at The Boulevard Mall, will receive a $3 million grant from the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence. (John Haughey/The Epoch Times).

CTCL, which didn’t return calls or respond to emails from The Epoch Times regarding requests for information, maintained that the Alliance is. “a nonpartisan effort that brings together election officials, designers, technologists, and other experts” To assist election officials in the administration of elections and to help all voters cast their ballots, regardless of party affiliation.

“Unfortunately, years of underinvestment means many local election departments often have limited capacity and training,” Tiana Epps Johnson, CTCL Executive Director, spoke at the April 2022 TED conference to announce the creation of the Alliance. The Alliance “is bringing together world-class partners so that local election officials no longer have to go it alone,” Epps-Johnson said.

The program will provide “customized resources, coaching, and implementation support,” The Alliance explains on its website that its offerings include grants and training, resources, as well as consulting services. “a set of common values and standards.” 

Alliance grants are limited to the purchase of technological and physical components necessary for an election or training. “personnel with specialized training … whose absence could cause undesirable consequences or hamper the election security mission,” It states.

Receiving election offices are called “Centers for Election Excellence,” Grants are awarded based upon three criteria “excitement and willingness” Participation is encouraged.

Based on population, grant amounts can vary from $50,000 for offices with less than 5,000 registered voters to $3,000,000 for those that have more than 1,000,000 voters. 

The Alliance announced in November that its first wave grant would be made to 10 county and municipal elections offices in seven states: Contra Costa, Shasta, California, Greenwich, Connecticut, Kane, Macoupin, Illinois, Ottawa County, Michigan, Clark County, Nevada, Brunswick, Forsyth, North Carolina, and Madison, Wisconsin.

On Alliance’s website, recipient elections officials say they will use the grants to improve websites, recruit poll workers, build more secure office spaces, and stay current on how other election officials are operating to ensure uniform “best practices.”

Critics: Manipulation of Election Centers

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signs the bill banning outside spending on election, in Pierre (S.D.) on March 16, 2022. (Courtesy Office of South Dakota Governor)

Snead stated that CTCL does not intend to set up its centers in the 24 states where elections offices have prohibited the use of private money in order to counter its influence over the 2020 election.

“Indeed,” He stated, “CTCL and its partners exclusively selected the first cohort of ‘Centers for Election Excellence’ from states without private funding limits.”

The center did, however, issue grants to elections offices in three of the six states where Democratic governors vetoed bills adopted by Republican lawmakers banning private contributions to elections officials—one each in Michigan and Wisconsin, and two in North Carolina.

North Carolina legislators passed Senate Bill 725 in 2021. This prohibits the State Board of Elections and county boards of election, as well as county commissioners, from accepting private funds for election expenses. The bill was passed after offices in the state received $7.2 Million in CTCL grants in 2020.

Democratic Gov. vetoed the bill. Roy Cooper December 20,21. In November 2022, Brunswick and Forsyth counties were named two of the Alliance’s “inaugural” Centers for Election Excellence

According to the HEP/John Locke Foundation’s report on the Alliance documents and emails were discovered in public records requests. This included email exchanges between electoral officials and constituents. “show preexisting relationships between CTCL and officials” Brunswick and Forsyth.

Forsyth County Elections Director Tim Tsuji serves on CTCL’s advisory committee, the report states, and documents that Brunswick County Elections Director Sara LaVere acknowledged extensive use of trainings, documents, and materials from CTCL and other Alliance members. 

She also revealed The Elections Group—part of the Alliance and CTCL’s 2020 Safe Elections Project—helped her write columns published in her own name before the election.

Brunswick County Republican Party received complaints from the public about the CTCL money being given to the local election board. “LaVere defended the group from criticism using talking points and hyperlinks provided by the Alliance specifically to rebut public criticism of the program,” The report says so.

“LaVere’s emails reveal she was already making use of materials and resources from CTCL’s partners before being selected” in November, the report notes, adding the email chains “show the influence that CTCL and the Alliance are already having on local offices. 

“Who are the county election officials that they contacted? It’s very clear they have an eye on North Carolina,” Snead stated. “Looking at their materials, it is very clear what is going on. They are very actively reshaping the way these officers function. [This is] really a foothold into other offices in North Carolina and other states. These North Carolina offices are poster children for all that can and will go wrong.”

“At a minimum, this kind of infiltration of election administration by private progressive organizations should be subject to stricter oversight by the North Carolina General Assembly,” Jackson stated. “The General Assembly should also consider passing a ban on Zuck Bucks, perhaps as part of the 2023 budget.” 

“North Carolina is one of the states where a potential private funding ban could happen” Snead claimed that such a bill was not yet filed on Jan. 26. “They are only one seat short of a veto-proof majority.”

‘Scheme’ Private Money Bans Can Be Avoided

The 56th Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Munich, south Germany on February 15, 2020, featured Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook. (Christof Stache/AFP)

CTCL didn’t organize an election project for 2020 midterms and explicitly points out that Zuckerberg isn’t currently a contributor. The $80 million in funding—for now—is nearly six times less than the $420 million 2020 project.

Jones also stated that the HEP/John Locke Foundation report reveals that there is more money available. “Some of the largest left-wing dark money groups, such as Arabella Advisors’ New Venture Fund and eBay chairman Pierre Omidyar’s Democracy Fund, are behind ‘Zuck Bucks 2.0.’” 

Alliance partners and financial contributors “are led and staffed by people with deep ties to the Democratic Party and partisan progressive organizations,” The report says that the Alliance should be called the Alliance “merely a continuation of CTCL’s scheme to use private funding to impact election policy nationwide.”

The report notes that Arabella Advisors’ New Venture Fund, which garnered more than $1.5 billion in donations in 2021, runs the Institute for Responsive Government and the Center for Secure and Modern Elections, lead proponents for automatic voter registration and voter “modernization” protocols. 

The report says that Epps Johnson, an Obama Foundation Fellow and alumna, of the Democrat affiliated New Organizing Institute. Once referred to as the “The Organizing Institute”, it is now the “The Organizing Institute”. “Democratic Party’s Hogwarts for Digital Wizardry.” 

CTCL also structures its Alliance coalition in a different way than its 2020 Safe Elections Project, in the absence of a pandemic. “Zuck Bucks.”

“They pivoted to a membership program,” Snead stated. “That is the ticket to expanding in an insidious way to exert more influence in how the offices function.”

The Alliance announced plans to start charging membership fees after it recruited its first 10 Centers for Election Excellence. Basic memberships cost $1,600 per year, while premium memberships cost $4,800 per year.

“It’s a minimal fee, $5,000 for premium. That’s something that most offices could afford,” Snead stated.

But elections offices don’t necessarily need to purchase members. The Alliance will offer “scholarships” To pay membership fees, which are converted to “credits” CTCL and other Alliance members can be used by member offices to purchase services. 

Honest Elections Project Executive Director Jason Snead says Americans are surprised to learn that local elections offices accept private contributions although they shouldn’t be. Since when do people in government turn down more money?” (Courtesy Jason Snead)

“As a result, offices receive access to funds they can spend exclusively on services provided by left-wing companies and nonprofits, entirely outside normal public funding channels,” The report says so.

“These fees are waived through ‘scholarships’ that give offices access to funding entirely outside normal, public channels. The offerings range from tech services to ‘coaching and even ‘political’ consulting,” Snead stated. “The scheme is so comprehensive that it offers public-relations support to officials facing blowback for joining,” LaVere had already used that when LaVere was challenged about Brunswick County joining the Alliance.

In return for grants, scholarships, and other services, offices will be expected to contribute in kind to CTCL and its partner offices “at taxpayer expense,” The report says so. “Offices are expected to help the Alliance develop its programming and to turn over a vast array of information regarding their inner workings.”

In addition, the report states that “members are expected to work with the Alliance to develop and implement an ‘improvement plan’ that reshapes the way each office functions.”

CTCL Grants “come with significant strings attached, despite claims of being bipartisan,” It concludes.

States that have banned private money in elections administration should review them to ensure they cover “the ‘scholarships’ Snead suggests that these and other Alliance schemes be used.

The membership/scholarship scheme “gives them the opportunity to assess and influence operations even in states that have banned private money in their elections administration,” He stated. “That is the clever thing. Even a state that has banned private money is not safe and shouldn’t be resting on its laurels.”