{"id":1554154,"date":"2022-07-14T10:49:05","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T14:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1554154"},"modified":"2022-07-14T10:49:23","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T14:49:23","slug":"pennsylvania-outlaws-zuckbucks-ahead-of-midterm-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-outlaws-zuckbucks-ahead-of-midterm-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Outlaws Zuckbucks Ahead Of Midterm Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpennsylvania-outlaws-zuckbucks-ahead-of-midterm-elections%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1554154&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/November_2020_general_election_voting_line_at_Pennypack_Elementary_School_in_Hatboro_PA.jpeg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has officially banned public officials from accepting and using funds from nongovernmental entities to conduct elections.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/cfdocs\/billinfo\/BillInfo.cfm?syear=2021&#038;sind=0&#038;body=S&#038;type=B&#038;bn=982\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Passed<\/a> by the state\u2019s Republican-majority legislature and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.pa.gov\/newsroom\/gov-wolf-signs-legislation-to-assist-skilled-nursing-facilities-with-increased-staffing-and-accountability-requirements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signed into law<\/a> by Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/CFDOCS\/Legis\/PN\/Public\/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&#038;sessYr=2021&#038;sessInd=0&#038;billBody=S&#038;billTyp=B&#038;billNbr=0982&#038;pn=1856\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legislation (SB 982)<\/a> mandates that Pennsylvania public officials \u201cmay not solicit, apply for, enter into a contract for or receive or expend gifts, donations, grants or funding from any individual, business, organization, trust, foundation, or any nongovernmental entity for the registration of voters or the preparation, administration or conducting of an election in [the] Commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also included in the bill is the establishment of an \u201celection integrity grant program,\u201d wherein the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development is permitted to distribute grants \u201cto counties for the administration of elections.\u201d Beginning Aug. 1, counties will be allowed to submit applications to receive funds from the program, with the size of the grant received by a county determined \u201cby the quotient of the county\u2019s number of registered voters divided by the total number of registered voters in all counties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As specified in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/CFDOCS\/Legis\/PN\/Public\/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&#038;sessYr=2021&#038;sessInd=0&#038;billBody=S&#038;billTyp=B&#038;billNbr=0982&#038;pn=1856\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">law<\/a>, these funds may only be utilized for purposes relating to the \u201cpayment of staff needed to pre-canvass and canvass mail-in ballots and absentee ballots,\u201d \u201cphysical security and transparency costs for centralized pre-canvassing and canvassing,\u201d and \u201cprocessing of voter registration applications,\u201d among other uses.<\/p>\n<p>While speaking with The Federalist, the bill\u2019s primary sponsor, state Sen. Lisa Baker, said she and co-sponsor Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill introduced the measure \u201cbecause Pennsylvania needs to see action on actual reforms that will improve an election system that has been severely tried and tested in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe reform begins with prohibiting private groups from funding election administration. Voting is among our basic rights, and the responsibility for properly running and funding elections is vested in government,\u201d Baker said. \u201cNo matter who on the outside is contributing, no matter their expressed motivations, millions of dollars coming in from national figures or organizations naturally raises suspicions of hidden agendas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The signing of SB 982 by Wolf is surprising given that members of his office actively <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/08\/explosive-pennsylvania-testimony-explains-how-leftist-money-infiltrated-election-offices-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">colluded<\/a> with \u201cleft-wing activists to secure millions of dollars in private money to\u00a0run get-out-the-vote efforts in blue counties\u201d in the state during the lead-up to the 2020 election. As <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/04\/08\/explosive-pennsylvania-testimony-explains-how-leftist-money-infiltrated-election-offices-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> by The Federalist\u2019s Senior Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland, during an April hearing held by the Pennsylvania legislature, state lawmakers heard public testimony revealing that \u201cbeginning in July 2020, consultants working for leftist organizations coordinated with local election officials and Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf\u2019s office to lobby five blue counties to apply for these private grants,\u201d with the funds originating from groups such as the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL).<\/p>\n<p>A non-profit funded by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg \u2014 who gave upwards of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techandciviclife.org\/100m\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$400 million<\/a> to the organization \u2014 CTCL was instrumental in altering state and local election operations in battleground states across the country during the 2020 cycle. In Pennsylvania, for instance, CTCL flooded the state with <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/shining-a-light-on-zuck-bucks-in-key-states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">approximately<\/a> $25 million \u201cZuckbucks,\u201d with the \u201c5 biggest grants per capita in CTCL-funded counties\u201d going to localities won by Joe Biden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCTCL gave grants to 10 of the 13 counties Biden won statewide, one of which (Erie County) flipped from Trump\u2019s 2016 column. Together, these 10 counties received $20.8 million, or over 83 percent of all CTCL grants to Pennsylvania,\u201d a Capital Research Center <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/shining-a-light-on-zuck-bucks-in-key-states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> found. \u201cIn contrast, CTCL gave grants to 12 of the 54 counties Trump won statewide. These 12 counties received just $1.73 million, a mere 7 percent of all CTCL funds in the Keystone state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As of July 2022,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/states-banning-zuck-bucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 20 states<\/a>\u00a0have passed laws banning or restricting public officials\u2019 use of \u201cZuckbucks\u201d and other private funds when conducting elections.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Shawn Fleetwood is an intern at The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has officially banned public officials from accepting and using funds from nongovernmental entities to conduct elections. Passed by the state\u2019s Republican-majority legislature and signed into law<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1554154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1554154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1554154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1554154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1554154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1554154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1554154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}