Cache County, Utah, has withdrawn from a left-wing dark money\u200b organization aiming to influence \u200dlocal election operations, \u2063The Federalist\u2063 has learned.<\/p>\n

The county\u2019s leading election official confirmed \u2063the locality \u2062has\u2064 declined to renew its membership with the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence for 2024. As The \u2063Federalist previously \u200breported, the Alliance<\/a> is an $80 \u200dmillion venture<\/a> launched in 2022 \u200dby\u200d left-wing nonprofits<\/a>\u00a0such as the Center for Tech \u200dand\u2064 Civic Life \u200d(CTCL)\u200b to \u201csystematically influence every\u200b aspect of \u2062election administration\u201d and advance Democrat-backed\u2063 voting\u200c policies in local election\u200c offices.<\/p>\n

The Daily\u2064 Signal first reported<\/a> in January\u200b 2023 that\u200c Cache County had\u200c joined the\u200b coalition. The news\u200d came several months after \u200cthe\u200b Alliance announced<\/a> its list of 2023 participating offices \u200din November 2022. Cache County was \u2064noticeably not included in that announcement. <\/p>\n

During the\u200b 2020 election, CTCL and the Center for Election \u2064Innovation and Research collectively received hundreds of\u200c millions of dollars<\/a> from Meta\u2064 CEO Mark Zuckerberg. These \u200d\u201c Zuckbucks<\/a>\u201d \u2062were poured \u2062into local election offices in battleground states around the country to change how \u2062elections were administered, such as by expanding unsupervised election protocols<\/a> like mail-in\u2064 voting and the use of ballot drop boxes. To \u200bmake matters worse, the grants were heavily skewed towards Democrat-majority counties, essentially making it \u2063a massive Democrat get-out-the-vote operation.<\/p>\n

Utah received\u2062 $295,611 in \u201cZuckbucks\u201d during the 2020 contest, according to the Capital\u2062 Research Center<\/a>. A \u2062law prohibiting<\/a> state election officials from \u201csoliciting, accepting, or using funds donated\u201d by private \u2064entities was signed<\/a> into law by GOP Gov. Spencer Cox in March 2022. <\/p>\n

In a \u200cFeb. 12 email obtained \u200dby The Federalist, Cache County Clerk David Benson informed the Alliance his locality \u201cno longer desires to participate\u201d in the coalition, noting Cache County \u201cdid \u2063not\u201d\u2064 reauthorize its membership for 2024 after its initial subscription to the program expired in December 2023. Benson further requested the Alliance remove Cache County as a participating office from its\u200d website. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cListing our county in this manner is inaccurate and without \u2063our permission,\u201d Benson wrote. Cache County has since been\u2063 removed<\/a> as a participating \u200coffice from the Alliance\u2019s \u2063website. <\/p>\n

When pressed on why his office opted to withdraw from the \u200bAlliance, Benson told The Federalist the coalition\u2019s membership\u200b was \u201ca cost incurred by \u200c [his] predecessor that [he] did not think warranted renewal\u201d and \u200cthat \u201cthere was \u200dsimply not enough value\u200d to justify the expense.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2023 report<\/a> published by \u200bthe Honest Elections \u2062Project (HEP) and John Locke Foundation noted how \u2063the Alliance originally sought to \u200bprovide election offices with \u201cscholarships\u201d to cover membership\u200d costs, which would then\u2063 be \u201cconverted into \u2018credits\u2019 that member offices [could] use to buy \u2064services from CTCL and\u200b other Alliance\u2063 partners.\u201d As HEP\u200d Executive Director \u2063Jason Snead noted in a previous interview<\/a> with\u00a0The Federalist, however, CTCL opted \u200bto shift \u200dits \u201coriginal model to \u200ca fee-based membership model\u201d as a way of skirting existing \u201cZuckbucks\u201d bans.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor jurisdictions\u2063 that are permitted to receive grants, those fees \u2062are \u200ceffectively waived. \u2062But jurisdictions \u2064that cannot receive private grants \u200ccan still buy their way \u2062in \u2063for a relatively small sum, allowing the Alliance to spread its influence even in states \u2064where lawmakers have tried to prevent it,\u201d \u2063Snead explained.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Cache County email to \u200bthe U.S. Alliance for \u200bElection Excellence<\/a> by The Federalist<\/a> on Scribd<\/p>\n

<\/iframe> <\/p>\nEarlier this week, the office of Utah Lt.\u2063 Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican, \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sltrib.com\/news\/politics\/2024\/02\/13\/cache-county-election-officials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published<\/a> a \u201cdeeply troubling\u201d report documenting alleged misconduct by Benson\u2019s office \u200cover \u2064its handling of the state\u2019s 2023 municipal elections. In a letter to Benson, Henderson claimed investigators \u201cnot only found an \u2062unprecedented \u200black \u2062of controls, widespread violations\u200d of Utah election law \u200dand administrative\u2063 rule,\u2063 but also\u200c a pointed disregard for \u2062policy and practices established by [the lieutenant governor\u2019s] office.\u201d <\/p>\nAccording to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sltrib.com\/news\/politics\/2024\/02\/13\/cache-county-election-officials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Salt Lake Tribune<\/a>, Henderson\u2019s office alleged that Cache County\u2062 election officials\u2064 \u201cfalsified a legally required \u2018logic and \u2062accuracy test\u2019 \u200bof the\u200b county\u2019s elections equipment ahead of the general election.\u201d Benson later informed state investigators \u201che did not conduct a second logic and accuracy test after receiving new ballot data.\u201d Other \u201csignificant problems\u201d highlighted in the report included \u201cpoor chain of custody practices that could have introduced numerous opportunities for bad actors\u2064 to impact the county\u2019s\u200c election results.\u201d<\/p>\nWhile the\u2062 investigation did not unearth any evidence of voter fraud, it flagged 31 problems with Cache County\u2019s administration of the \u20622023 elections. \u2063Henderson\u2019s office \u200chas since demanded Benson issue \u200ca written response and \u200ddevelop an\u2064 \u201caction plan\u201d outlining\u2064 how his office intends to address the issues by Feb. 20. <\/p>\nSpeaking\u200b with The Federalist, Snead emphasized how Cache \u2063County\u2019s exit \u200bfrom \u200dthe Alliance \u201cdeals another major blow\u201d to the program\u200d and represents \u201ca victory\u2064 for voters in Utah \u2062and the country as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\nRoughly \u201ca third of the original so-called \u2018Centers for Election Excellence\u2019 have \u200bnow withdrawn from\u2064 the Alliance over concerns\u2063 about\u2064 private influences on election administration and a rigorous workload,\u201d Snead said. \u201cThe counties and cities who still remain in the Alliance ought to reconsider their membership in such a shady organization.\u201d<\/p>\nCache County\u2019s withdrawal from the Alliance comes a month after The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/19\/exclusive-north-carolina-counties-withdraw-from-democrats-zuckbucks-2-0-dark-money-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that Forsyth and Brunswick Counties in North Carolina exited the program late \u200dlast year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-48ba7956691e7a9787ca106a58dd207e fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-48ba7956691e7a9787ca106a58dd207e\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n rnrn <\/p>\n<h2> How did the Alliance for Election Excellence receive\u2063 funding from private entities like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and how was it used\u200d to influence election \u200boperations?<\/h2>\n Cache\u200d County, \u200cUtah, Withdraws\u2063 from Left-Wing Dark Money Organization<\/p>\nCache County, Utah, has made the\u2062 decision to withdraw from the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, a \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/left-wing-dark-money-giant-may-have-illegally-boosted-democratic-aligned-causes-experts-say\/\" title=\"Experts suggest that a prominent left-wing dark money organization may have unlawfully supported causes aligned with the Democratic Party.\">left-wing dark money organization<\/a> that\u200d aims to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/politifact-tries-to-fact-check-a-federalist-article-on-democrats-dark-money-election-takeover-and-fails-miserably\/\" title=\"PolitiFact Tries To \u2018Fact-Check\u2019 A Federalist Article On Democrats\u2019 Dark Money Election Takeover And Fails Miserably\">influence local election operations<\/a>. The county’s leading election official confirmed that Cache County has chosen\u200d not to renew its membership with the Alliance for 2024.<\/p>\nThe Alliance for Election Excellence is an $80 million venture launched\u2062 in 2022 by left-wing nonprofits, including \u2063the Center \u2063for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL). Its goal is to systematically influence every aspect of election\u2064 administration\u2064 and\u2063 advance Democrat-backed voting policies in local \u200belection \u200doffices.<\/p>\nCache County\u200c joined the coalition in January 2023, but \u200bit was \u2064noticeably not included\u200d in the list of participating offices\u2063 announced by the Alliance in November 2022. The coalition received significant funding from Meta CEO \u200bMark\u200b Zuckerberg, also known as “Zuckbucks,” during the 2020 election. These funds were\u200b used to change how \u200delections were administered in \u2063battleground states,\u200b including expanding \u2063mail-in \u2063voting \u200band the use of ballot\u200b drop boxes. The grants were heavily skewed towards Democrat-majority counties, essentially serving\u200c as a get-out-the-vote operation for the Democratic party.<\/p>\nUtah \u2063received $295,611 in Zuckbucks during the 2020 \u2064election. However, \u200ca law prohibiting \u2062state election officials from accepting funds donated by private entities was signed into law in \u2063March 2022. This law prevented Cache County from reauthorizing its \u2062membership with the Alliance for 2024.<\/p>\nCache County Clerk David Benson\u200c informed the Alliance in a February 12 email that the county no longer wishes to\u200c participate \u2064in the coalition. \u2062He cited\u200b the cost of\u200d membership as a reason \u2063for withdrawal, stating that he did not believe it warranted renewal.<\/p>\nA report published by the Honest Elections Project (HEP) and John Locke Foundation highlighted how the Alliance originally intended to provide election offices with \u200cscholarships \u2062to cover membership \u200dcosts. However, CTCL shifted \u200bits model to a fee-based membership as a way to circumvent \u200bbans on private grants.<\/p>\nCache County has since been removed as a participating office from the Alliance’s website, as requested by\u200b Benson in his email. When questioned about the \u2064withdrawal, Benson explained that \u2063he did not see enough\u200d value\u2063 in the coalition to justify the expense.<\/p>\nIt is important to note that earlier this week, the office of Utah \u200bLt. Gov. Deidre \u200bHenderson released a report \u2062documenting alleged misconduct by Benson’s\u2064 office during\u200c the state’s 2023 municipal elections. Henderson claimed that investigators\u2063 found\u2063 widespread violations \u200dof Utah election law and administrative\u2064 rules, as well as a disregard \u2062for policies and practices established by her office.<\/p>\nThe withdrawal of Cache County from the U.S. \u200cAlliance for Election Excellence highlights the ongoing debates surrounding the influence of \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marc-elias-democratic-superlawyer-ousted-from-biden-team-following-dnc-split\/\" title=\"Marc Elias, prominent Democratic lawyer, removed from Biden team after DNC disagreement.\">dark\u2063 money organizations<\/a> in local election operations. It also\u200c raises questions about the use\u2063 of private funds in election administration and underscores the need for transparency\u200c and accountability in the electoral process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cache County, Utah, has exited a left-wing dark money group that seeks to sway local elections. The county’s top election official confirmed that they have chosen not to renew their membership with the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence for 2024. The Alliance, a $80 million initiative, was established in 2022, as reported by The Federalist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2178151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/33135162285_8e253d30da_k.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2178150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/33135162285_8e253d30da_k.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178150","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=2178150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2178151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2178150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2178150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2178150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}