Citizens Election Research Center

Archives 2024

The Current – In the Dugout Podcast: Election Integrity Under Assault

Join Mike Stenhouse with two special guests: Ned Jones, Director of the Election Integrity Network, and Sara Vieira, Founder of RI Fair Elections & Education, as they discuss the latest threats to our electoral system.

Center for Tech and Civic Life: Early Report on 2024 Rural and Nonmetro Election Infrastructure Grant Program
Research- CTCL Election Grants Summer/Fall 2024

Center for Tech and Civic Life 2024 Rural and Nonmetro Election Infrastructure & Institute for Responsive Government Grants.

The Federalist – Article: Rhode Island Solicited Voter Registration From Noncitizens At The Behest Of Leftist Election Group

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Article: Rhode Island Department of State solicited potential noncitizens to register to vote

The Rhode Island Department of State solicited potential noncitizens to register to vote in order to meet the requirements of the leftist election group Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), according to emails reviewed by The Federalist.

In a 2021 email thread, Rob Rock, the Department of State’s former director of elections (who now serves as deputy secretary and director of administration), said the state sent “eligible but unregistered” (EBU) voter mailers to individuals flagged as noncitizens. The email was sent in response to an inquiry from Kyle Upchurch, program manager at the Zuckbucks-linked Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR).

“We sent two versions of the EBU,” Rock wrote. “One to people who have a ‘Y’ citizenship flag and one to those who have a ‘No’ citizenship flag. Each PDF contains the English and Spanish versions.”

Or download the .pdf below.

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The Daily Signal – Article: ‘Zuckerbucks’ Hit Small Towns as Tech Group Finances More Election Offices

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Article: ‘Zuckerbucks’ tech group financing election offices in rural counties

The Center for Tech and Civic Life—which four years ago doled out controversial election grants that became known as “Zuckerbucks”—recently notified White Pine County, Nevada, of a $20,000 grant. 

The county, in a major battleground state going into the Nov. 5 presidential election, has a population of about 9,000 and is part of what the Left-aligned center calls its Rural and Nonmetro Election Infrastructure Grant Program. 

The notification to White Pine County came with a message from Tiana Epps-Johnson, CTCL’s executive director, and an agreement on how the $20,000 grant could be used. 

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The Daily Signal – Article: The Left Lauded Voting by Mail in 2020, but Now It’s a Bipartisan Concern

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Article: Democrat and Republican election officials are raising concerns about whether the U.S. Postal Service is prepared for mail-in ballots. 

In the 2020 presidential election, the Left staunchly promoted voting by mail and scoffed at critics of the option. In 2024, however, Democrat and Republican election officials, as well as an inspector general, are raising concerns about whether the U.S. Postal Service is prepared for mail-in ballots. 

Last week, election officials from both major parties expressed concern about mail-in ballots, the same week the National Letter Carriers Association—which represents 290,000 active and retired mail carriers—endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. In July, the American Postal Workers Union, representing 200,000 Postal Service employees, endorsed Harris. 

Earlier this year, the Postal Service Office of Inspector General expressed concern about the “risk of delays in the processing and delivery” of election-related mail as well as “operational changes that pose a risk of individual ballots not being counted.”

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The Federalist – Article: ‘Zuckbucks’ Group Coached Madison Clerk On ‘Combating Election Misinformation’

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Article: City clerk in major swing state Wisconsin received training from a “Zuckbucks” group on “combating election misinformation”

The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) funneled hundreds of millions of dollars from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to public election agencies in 2020, favoring left-leaning areas in key swing states and boosting Democrat turnout. The group launched the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence in 2022 to coordinate with other leftist groups and “systematically influence every aspect of election administration in target offices,” as revealed in an Honest Elections Project report.

The office of Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl has a history of involvement with both CTCL and the Alliance. After participating in a CTCL training aimed at “combating” so-called “election misinformation,” Witzel-Behl continued to participate in the group’s “misinformation” programming in the months leading up to the 2024 election, emails obtained by The Federalist in a Freedom of Information Act request suggest. Meanwhile, Witzel-Behl’s office recently sent out more than 2,200 duplicate ballots to residents last month.

Witzel-Behl “previously participated in [the group’s] Combating Election Misinformation training,” according to a June 11 email from Andrea Abbate, a CTCL associate director and communications manager. Sophie Lehman, a CTCL associate director, also sent the clerk an email on July 10 promoting an upcoming webinar on “Combating Election Misinformation.”

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The Nevada Globe – Article: Douglas County Awarded $50,000 Grant From Mark Zuckerberg’s Nonprofit For Election Security

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Article: The republican stronghold of Douglas County has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life 

The republican stronghold of Douglas County has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) for election support and security needs ahead of the general election in November. After CTCL donated and directed ~$400 million in “Zuckerbucks” into the 2020 election to support county election offices in primarily blue districts, 28 legislatures have banned the practice of taking nonprofit money to run elections.

The grant was uncovered through an open-records request submitted by Silver State Times. According to the report, Douglas County Grants Administrator Debbie Swickard applied for the grant on August 19, stating:

“As a rural County with limited funding a grant award will help us fill the gaps to purchase needed items for security. Being pro-active to mitigate any possible threat we would like to purchase transport carts for mail ballots and bullet proof glass for our election public counter. We are also in need for tables and shelving systems for our processing facility as well as tables for our vote centers. We are extremely grateful for any funding to help us maintain fair and safe elections for Douglas County.”

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Restoration News – Article: Zuck Bucks Live Again in Nevada, Just in Time to Help Kamala’s Failing Campaign

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Article: Once again, Democrats are showing why our country must ban private funding for elections—and they’re using a Republican clerk to prove it

The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL)—the infamous group behind the 2020 “Zuck bucks” wave of private election grants that boosted Democratic turnout in key states—is at it again, this time with a new grant in Nevada, according to documents obtained by the Coalition Opposing Government Secrecy (COGS), a St. Louis-based government transparency watchdog.

This time, however, it was made possible by a Republican clerk known for castigating her constituents as lying “Kool-Aid drinkers.”

On Aug. 19, CTCL awarded $50,000 to Douglas County, Nevada, for “planning and operationalizing reliable and secure election administration . . . in 2024.” In return, CTCL’s grant application requires Douglas County to surrender information on its election operations, including a post-election report due by Jan. 31, 2025.

This language mirrors grants provided to thousands of county election offices in 2020 from CTCL, which received $350 million from billionaire mega-donor Mark Zuckerberg ostensibly to “fortify” the election amidst COVID-19. In fact, it helped juice Democratic turnout in key swing states, enough to oust President Trump from the White House, as analysis (including my own in early 2021) has demonstrated over and again.

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The Federalist – Article: ‘Zuckbucks’ Group Acts As A Shadow Legislature In Rural America

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Article: Applications for the new round of CTCL grants opened in August. The organization has approved election funding in these jurisdictions.

The Center for Tech and Civic Life, which funneled millions in “Zuckbucks” to local election agencies in 2020 through grants favoring Democrat areas, recently announced another round of grants to “rural and nonmetro” election offices ahead of November. The leftist group has awarded grants to at least 11 jurisdictions so far, cultivating relationships with election officials while effectively taking on the legislature’s job of appropriating funds for elections.

Applications for the new round of CTCL grants opened Aug. 2, and the organization has so far approved election funding in at least the following jurisdictions: Colorado (San Juan County); Massachusetts (Orange); Maine (Belgrade, Caribou, Farmington, and West Paris); Minnesota (Nobles County); Nevada (White Pine County); New Hampshire (Meredith and Plymouth); and Vermont (Washington).

Many of these election officials expressed the need for funding and infrastructure, and CTCL has effectively taken on the role of a shadow legislature, granting money to fill the perceived needs of election officials. Doing so allows the group, which was responsible for election meddling to benefit Democrats in 2020, to curry favor with those officials.

Or download the .pdf below.

Warning: The article is neither owned nor written by the Citizens Election Research Center. The provided .pdf is only for the purposes of ease of viewing.