Americans want secure elections.
When 60 percent of voters said they believe there is institutional fraud in our elections, states had a responsibility to respond by closing loopholes, tightening up processes, and working to reduce fraud.
Now, nearly half the states have passed some form of election integrity legislation, and the Left is running out of options in their bid to undermine local control of local elections.
Congress’s attempt to override the states by federalizing elections failed. President Biden’s pre-questioning of the legitimacy of the midterm elections fell flat.
With the public not on their side, the Left is now looking for loopholes. Re-enter the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL).
CTCL was made famous during the 2020 presidential election for distributing “COVID-19 response grants” funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The organization funneled hundreds of millions of dollars—or “Zuckerbucks”—into local election offices under the guise of combating the challenges brought on by the pandemic. After the misuse of these grants were brought to the public’s attention, many states chose to enact election integrity measures including passing bans on Zuckerbucks and third-party funding of elections.
Now, even without the pandemic as an excuse, CTCL is at it again.
In their most recent attempt to circumvent states’ abilities to regulate their own elections, CTCL announced the launch of the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence.
The Alliance intends to distribute $80 million to qualifying local election offices and provide “coaching” to election officials to “improve upon practices and procedures aimed at enhancing the voter, poll worker, and staff experiences.”
Election offices are invited to apply, and the Alliance will vet them in a process unknown and unaccountable to voters. Tiana Epps-Johnson, executive director of CTCL, emphasized that every American voter will have access to a fair, trustworthy voting process regardless of zip code through the developmental and financial assistance provided by this Alliance. However, it is unclear from which zip codes the election officials and coaches will come.
Much remains uncertain about the Alliance’s plans, but if the last two years have shown us anything it is that leaving election administration “assistance” up to groups like the Alliance allows special interests to selectively decide which jurisdictions receive resources. And then, just like in 2020, states will see “swing” and Democratic-leaning areas receive the bulk of the funding. The result then was increased Democratic turnout. It’s difficult to believe that it would be any different this time around.
Leaders on the left are attempting to get ahead of the criticism by claiming this is an effort to combat the years of under-investing in election offices, but their motivations are clearer this time around. The Alliance has repacked the same scheme carried out in 2020 to imbed themselves in the local election infrastructure and influence future elections. While the talking-point-driven explanations and names of the programs the Left continues to come up with might be clever, the problem and uncertainty of interference in our elections remains.
State lawmakers must recognize the interference and threat the Alliance poses before it has a chance to poison the upcoming elections.
Since 2020, more than 20 states have enacted laws prohibiting or restricting the use of private funding in local elections, and in doing so, have helped restore the trust of voters in their local democratic processes.
In states that have passed a ban on private funding, local election officials should be warned that applying for or receiving any resources such as equipment or training from the Alliance or any of its partnering organizations (like CTCL) may subject them to criminal and/or civil penalties under current state law. They should notify state election authorities immediately if they are approached by a private, third-party group offering such benefits.
In states that have not passed a ban, vigilance will be needed to prevent undue influence in coming elections.
For representative government to have the trust of the American people, voters need to know that their elections are free from outside influence and manipulation. State legislatures and governors must do all they can to ensure that elections remain in their control—not unaccountable third-party operations. There isn’t any time to waste.
Trevor Carlsen is a senior research fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member