{"id":2206231,"date":"2024-03-26T06:31:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T10:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-voters-have-a-chance-to-rid-their-elections-of-zuckbucks-for-good\/"},"modified":"2024-03-26T06:37:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T10:37:28","slug":"wisconsin-voters-have-a-chance-to-rid-their-elections-of-zuckbucks-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-voters-have-a-chance-to-rid-their-elections-of-zuckbucks-for-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Voters Can Eliminate &#8216;Zuckbucks&#8217; from Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><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%2Fwisconsin-voters-have-a-chance-to-rid-their-elections-of-zuckbucks-for-good%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=2206231&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--><p>Wisconsin voters have the chance \u2062to decide on\u200d banning private funds in elections, particularly concerning \u2063donations from Mark Zuckerberg. The\u200c upcoming ballot will ask key questions \u200baiming to restrict the influence of\u2062 private money \u200din election administration.\u2064 Early voting has already\u2064 begun for the April election. The debate over\u2062 &#8220;Zuckbucks&#8221; continues as the state \u2062considers crucial constitutional amendments.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Hey, Wisconsin: The future of \u201cZuckbucks\u201d is coming to a ballot near you.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Badger State voters have the opportunity on <a href=\"https:\/\/myvote.wi.gov\/en-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tuesday, April 2<\/a> to kill the snake of private funding in election administration, which consumed the 2020 elections under cover of Covid thanks in large part to the \u201cgenerous\u201d donations of Facebook founder and conservative speech silencer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/center-for-tech-and-civic-life\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mark Zuckerberg.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-433541924\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c973ad5994c67413638327ea3c4b86ba fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c973ad5994c67413638327ea3c4b86ba\"><\/div>\n<p>Coupled with a meaningless presidential primary and a spate of local elections, two critical questions on the spring election ballot ask voters whether they want the state constitution to ban private funds in elections and stop local election officials from using private funds in administering elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The answer for those who hate the invasion of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/07\/mollie-hemingway-breaks-down-everything-wrong-with-u-s-elections-from-mail-in-ballots-to-zuckbucks-to-censorship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zuckbucks<\/a> is \u201cYes\u201d times two.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The constitutional amendment questions <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Wisconsin_2024_ballot_measures\">ask<\/a>:\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>1. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?<\/p>\n<p>2. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pbswisconsin.org\/news-item\/early-voting-starts-in-wisconsin-for-2024-spring-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Early voting<\/a> in the spring election is already underway.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3d8d1e58b3cb1d040e01f0fbea9d857e fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3d8d1e58b3cb1d040e01f0fbea9d857e\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leftist Funders Invade Election Offices<\/h2>\n<p>In the months leading up to the 2020 presidential election, a Chicago-based, leftist \u201celection reform\u201d organization with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techandciviclife.org\/ctcls-executive-director-selected-as-2018-obama-foundation-fellow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ties<\/a> to the Obama Foundation rained money down on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-zuckerberg-broke-law-with-dropboxes\/\" title=\"Trump: Zuckerberg 'Broke Law' with Dropboxes\">local election offices<\/a> in election-deciding swing states.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/thefga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Zuckerbucks-Infiltrated-Wisconsin-Election.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Tech &#038; Civic Life<\/a> claimed the $350 million-plus it had received from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Pricilla Chan, was intended for election \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techandciviclife.org\/our-work\/election-officials\/grants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">safety<\/a>\u201d grants around the country. CTCL <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techandciviclife.org\/10-facts-about-ctcl-grants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">insisted<\/a> the money was not distributed to election offices on a \u201cpartisan basis.\u201d But as it turned out, the <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/WillLawFINGER-ON-THE-SCALE.6.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lion\u2019s share<\/a> of the $10 million in CTCL grants to Badger State communities went to the so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2021\/03\/11\/zuckerberg-grant-allowed-outsider-to-infiltrate-presidential-election-in-wisconsin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cWisconsin Five,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 the largest Democrat strongholds \u2014 Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, and Racine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/10\/12\/the-2020-election-wasnt-stolen-it-was-bought-by-mark-zuckerberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The 2020 Election Wasn\u2019t Stolen, It Was Bought By Mark Zuckerberg<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/03\/10\/how-mark-zuckerbergs-election-money-helped-an-out-of-state-democrat-get-his-hands-on-wisconsins-2020-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported,<\/a> the grants came with the expectation that left-wing voter activist groups would \u201cassist\u201d the \u201cWisconsin Five\u201d cities in election administration. Communications obtained through open records requests show a longtime Democrat operative who was embedded in the Green Bay City Clerk\u2019s office offered to help \u201ccure\u201d absentee ballot envelopes and was given the keys to the room where absentee ballots were stored.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4907e8aa0810a02b02be051beeb64820 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4907e8aa0810a02b02be051beeb64820\"><\/div>\n<p>Elections officials in \u201cWisconsin Five\u201d cities will undoubtedly be voting \u201cno\u201d on the ballot amendments on the April ballot. Zuckbucks have been very, very good to these Democrat bastions and their preferred candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As my Federalist colleague Shawn Fleetwood <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/13\/milwaukee-set-to-accept-800k-from-a-cryptic-elections-group-with-democrat-dark-money-ties\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> earlier this month, the city Milwaukee is looking to cash in on an $800,000 election grant from <a href=\"https:\/\/citiesforward.org\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cities Forward<\/a>, a \u201cnewly-formed nonprofit ties to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-left-wing-network-blocked-from-credit-card-processor-over-ties-to-palestinian-terror-group\/\" title=\"Top Left-Wing Network Blocked From Credit Card Processor Over Ties to Palestinian Terror Group\">prominent left-wing dark money group<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Milwaukee elections administrator Claire Woodall-Vogg is tight with the leftist groups. As I <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/12\/13\/wisconsin-election-bill-trades-security-for-speed-lawmaker-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported last year<\/a>, in the wee hours of Nov. 4, 2020, long after the polls closed in the Nov. 3 presidential election, Woodall-Vogg announced a batch of tens of thousands of votes had finally been counted. The vast majority of the votes were for Democrat Joe Biden, helping to give him an extremely narrow victory over Republican President Donald Trump in the battleground Badger State.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDamn, Claire, you have a flair for drama, delivering just the margin needed at 3:00 a.m.,\u201d\u00a0wrote Ryan Chew of the left-leaning Elections Group in an email to the city elections chief. \u201cI bet you had those votes counted at midnight, and just wanted to keep the world waiting!\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keeping \u2018Dark Money\u2019 Out of Elections<\/h2>\n<p>Conservative organizations have kept out of the election grant business.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not aware of any conservative groups that have done similar things, but if you are on the left you should be just as concerned about [private money in elections],\u201d said Will Flanders, Ph.D, research director at the Wisconsin Institute for Law &#038; Liberty (WILL).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>WILL, the MacIver Institute, the Wisconsin Voter Alliance, and other election integrity groups are trying to get the word out about the importance of the ballot measures. Advocates for keeping private funds out of Wisconsin elections say they\u2019re targeting voters in Wisconsin\u2019s biggest cities, too, and learning that some traditionally liberal voters there are opposed to the flood of private cash drenching election administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened during the 2020 election should never be allowed to happen again in Wisconsin. That means permanently ending organizations with outside interests from having a role in the administration of our elections,\u201d Annette Olson, CEO of MacIver\u2019s 501(c)4 arm, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/2024\/maciver-impact-inc-launching-ad-campaign-in-support-of-amendment-to-ban-zuckerbucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a>. \u201cThese common sense amendments would ban dark money from playing a role in administering elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A poll paid for by MacIver Impact found 68 percent of likely voters oppose \u201callowing government offices that oversee elections to accept funding from private individuals and special-interest groups.\u201d The poll found 64 percent of those identifying as Republicans, 68 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of independents said they do not support private money in elections. <\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the high numbers for Democrats should come as no surprise. Last year, a similar constitutional amendment banning Zuckbucks in Louisiana elections was approved with <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/16\/louisiana-joins-states-banning-zuckbucks-but-will-that-be-enough-to-stop-dems-private-election-takeover\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">72.6 percent<\/a> of the vote. At the time, Louisiana became \u201cthe\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/states-banning-zuck-bucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">26th state<\/a>\u00a0to ban or restrict the use of private money in elections and the first to ban the practice via the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iowa-supreme-court-says-state-constitution-does-not-protect-abortion-rights\/\" title=\"Iowa Supreme Court Says State Constitution Does Not Protect Abortion Rights\">constitutional amendment process<\/a>,\u201d The Federalist reported. <\/p>\n<p>The Wisconsin poll also included messaging questions, asking, for instance, whether respondents would be more or less likely to vote \u201cyes\u201d on Wisconsin\u2019s ballot questions if they knew doing so would keep groups like the NRA or billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg from giving money to election offices. Turns out liberals really don\u2019t like the thought of the NRA or Elon Musk getting involved in Wisconsin election administration. <\/p>\n<p>Flanders says he\u2019s heard from some voters who find the language of the constitutional amendment questions confusing. As is often the case, voters will have to turn the ballot over to get to the referenda questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s always hard to distill down something that is going into the constitution,\u201d Flanders said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Getting Around Evers\u2019 Veto Pen<\/h2>\n<p>As of late December, 27 states \u201cprohibit, limit or regulate the use of private or philanthropic funding to run elections,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsl.org\/elections-and-campaigns\/prohibiting-private-funding-of-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> the National Conference of State Legislatures. Leftist Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed legislation that would ban Zuckbucks. In fact, Evers has routinely killed Republican-sponsored election integrity bills. <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wisconsin-governor-ai-legislation-4f7c5e4a474fdef7dc05eaa1689d0c72\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Last week<\/a>, the Democrat vetoed bills allowing election observers closer proximity to ballot counters and requiring post-election audits.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Republicans opted to take the issue directly to the voters, getting around Evers\u2019 liberally used veto pen. The GOP-controlled legislature <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/10\/wisconsin-sends-amendments-banning-zuckbucks-noncitizen-voting-to-voters-for-approval\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> the constitutional amendment <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/2023\/proposals\/SJR78\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resolutions<\/a> in two consecutive sessions, as required by law. Evers couldn\u2019t touch them.<\/p>\n<p>State Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, <a href=\"https:\/\/legis.wisconsin.gov\/senate\/20\/stroebel\/media\/1762\/1172023-press-release-senate-passes-constitutional-amendments-legislation-to-preserve-election-integrity.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">helped lead<\/a> the charge in the push to ban Zuckbucks in Wisconsin elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no disputing the fact that the outsized share of private funding directed to Wisconsin\u2019s five largest cities in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election drove outsized increases in voter turnout in these same cities, with a clear partisan advantage for Democrat candidates,\u201d Stroebel said in a statement to The Federalist. \u201cThis helps to explain why the legislation I helped advance to statutorily prohibit such funding schemes was vetoed by Gov. Evers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Legislature resorted to placing a constitutional amendment on the April 2 ballot,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is now incumbent upon a majority of the Wisconsin electorate to vote \u2018yes\u2019 in response to both referendum questions to ensure uniformity and integrity in the administration of our elections cannot be undermined by moneyed interests moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3064f2ae471e6437763c3a363f383fb8 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3064f2ae471e6437763c3a363f383fb8\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attention Wisconsin residents! The fate of &#8220;Zuckbucks&#8221; is in your hands. On April 2, you can vote to eliminate private funding in election administration, a practice that rose during the 2020 elections due to donations from Facebook&#8217;s founder. Let&#8217;s take control of the voting process together<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2206232,"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\/03\/Zuckerberg-e1711394734640.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2206231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Zuckerberg-e1711394734640.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206231","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\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2206231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2206232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2206231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2206231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2206231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}