{"id":2224310,"date":"2024-04-18T14:47:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T18:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dark-money-group-backed-by-foreign-billionaire-has-dumped-100-million-into-state-ballot-initiatives\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T14:51:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T18:51:36","slug":"dark-money-group-backed-by-foreign-billionaire-has-dumped-100-million-into-state-ballot-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dark-money-group-backed-by-foreign-billionaire-has-dumped-100-million-into-state-ballot-initiatives\/","title":{"rendered":"A secretive organization funded by an overseas billionaire has funneled $100 million into local ballot initiatives"},"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\">32<\/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%2Fdark-money-group-backed-by-foreign-billionaire-has-dumped-100-million-into-state-ballot-initiatives%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=2224310&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>The article reveals that a Swiss billionaire\u200c supports left-wing groups financing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-vandal-stole-his-pro-life-signs-this-clever-dad-tracked-him-down-and-had-a-conversation-about-abortion\/\" title=\"A Vandal Stole His Pro-Life Signs. This Clever Dad Tracked Him Down And Had A Conversation About Abortion\">state ballot initiatives<\/a>. Hansj\u00f6rg Wyss has donated\u200c substantial sums to advance\u200c progressive causes. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, under Wyss&#8217; backing, is heavily involved in promoting initiatives across various states \u200dfrom election law changes to voter registration drives. \u2063The billionaire donates generously\u2064 to\u200b push Democratic \u200bagendas and expand the left&#8217;s voter base.  <\/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>A Swiss billionaire whose personal goal is to \u201c(re)interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics\u201d has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/antifa-blm-vandalize-ice-building-burn-original-starbucks\/\" title=\"Antifa, BLM vandalize ICE building, burn original Starbucks\">left-wing group<\/a> that is dumping millions into state ballot initiatives, a new report from Americans for Public Trust (APT) revealed. <\/p>\n<p>Hansj\u00f6rg Wyss, through his Berger Action Fund, has donated $243 million to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which \u201cuses its war chest \u2026 to support massive get-out-the-vote drives, issue advocacy campaigns bolstering President Biden\u2019s agenda, liberal pet projects from abortion to immigration, and attack ads against Republican lawmakers,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/americansforpublictrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/APT_1630_Ballot_Spending_Report_FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">APT<\/a>.<\/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__b89e9-607618469\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9459cddfbecf830f1449424c6e452488 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9459cddfbecf830f1449424c6e452488\"><\/div>\n<p>The group also pours resources into state ballot initiatives \u2014 to the tune of $97,593,151 over the past decade, according to the report. The cash infusions are \u201coften concentrated in battleground\u00a0presidential states such as Arizona, Michigan, and Ohio or states with competitive U.S. Senate races like Colorado,\u00a0Missouri, and Nevada.\u201d The lion\u2019s share of that funding has gone to Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, and Nevada, but the Sixteen Thirty Fund also targets ballot initiatives in solid red states like Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota.<\/p>\n<p>The Sixteen Thirty Fund has dumped nearly $34 million into Michigan \u2014 a state former President Donald Trump won in 2016 \u2014 since 2017 to, in part, \u201crewrite the state\u2019s election laws,\u201d according to the report. In Nevada, the group \u201cwas the number one donor to a ballot issue that implemented automatic voter registration\u201d in 2018.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READNEXT:[READNEXT:<\/strong><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\"><strong>Mollie Hemingway Breaks Down Everything Wrong With U.S. Elections From Mail-In Ballots To Zuckbucks To Censorship<\/strong><\/a><strong>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Sixteen Thirty Fund, as The Federalist\u2019s Mark Hemingway <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearinvestigations.com\/articles\/2023\/08\/22\/the_progressive_benefactor_who_makes_us_barriers_to_foreign_cash_look_like_swiss_cheese_973986.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pointed out<\/a> in a RealClearInvestigations article, is part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/10\/arabella-sheds-light-on-the-dark-money-groups-remaking-america-millions-of-dollars-at-a-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arabella Advisors<\/a> network, which has been described by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2021\/11\/arabella-advisors-money-democrats\/620553\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a> as the \u201cMassive Progressive Dark-Money Group You\u2019ve Never Heard Of.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c1ca5740e9a42ad412f36db959e5cd79 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c1ca5740e9a42ad412f36db959e5cd79\"><\/div>\n<p>Wyss has also donated to the \u201cCenter for American Progress and Priorities USA, as well as organizations that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-81-election-fraud-cases-brought-to-courts-30-active-cases\/\" title=\"Report: 81 election fraud cases brought to courts, 30 active cases\">ran voter registration<\/a> and mobilization campaigns to increase Democratic turnout, built media outlets accused of slanting the news to favor Democrats and sought to block Mr. Trump\u2019s nominees, prove he colluded with Russia and push for his impeachment,\u201d the New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/03\/us\/politics\/hansjorg-wyss-money-democrats.html#:~:text=Beneficiaries%20of%20his%20organizations%E2%80%99%20direct%20giving%20included%20prominent,colluded%20with%20Russia%20and%20push%20for%20his%20impeachment.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unsurprising that Wyss\u2019s beneficiaries push Democrat voter turnout, since part of Wyss\u2019s long game is expanding the left\u2019s voter base. In 2015, the Wyss Foundation \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/wyss-foundation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">put forth<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/app\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Corridor-Partners-Plan-.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">plan<\/a> to \u2018fundamentally change the composition of the [American] electorate\u2019 in a way that another leaked <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/wyss-memo.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">memo<\/a> indicated would help \u2018achieve the foundation\u2019s policy goals,&#8217;\u201d as Logan Washburn <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/04\/inside-one-dark-money-fueled-groups-strategy-session-to-target-democrat-voting-blocs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained<\/a> in these pages.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty introduced the Prevent Foreign Interference in American Elections Act, which seeks to stop foreign nationals like Wyss from funding ballot initiatives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hagerty.senate.gov\/press-releases\/2024\/04\/17\/hagerty-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-prohibit-foreign-nationals-from-funding-american-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">as well as<\/a> \u201cballot harvesting, get-out-the-vote activity, public communications that promote a political party, or \u2018Zuckerbucks\u2019-type election administration activity.\u201d The legislation would also prohibit foreign nationals from funding election activity indirectly by funneling contributions through intermediary organizations like the Sixteen Thirty Fund. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter years of hysteria over Russiagate and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-national-security-states-war-on-the-first-amendment\/\" title=\"The National Security State\u2019s War on the First Amendment\">alleged foreign influence<\/a> in American elections, it turns out Democrats have recently benefited from hundreds of millions of dollars in election-related contributions from a shadowy foreign billionaire, sidestepping the federal ban on foreign-national contributions in U.S. elections,\u201d Hagerty said in a statement. \u201cThis type of influence undermines democracy and self-government here in America, and its staggering scope should be alarming.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a79ecffaba1392adef23d765228ab4ff fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a79ecffaba1392adef23d765228ab4ff\"><\/div>\n<p>Hagerty\u2019s proposal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearinvestigations.com\/articles\/2023\/08\/22\/the_progressive_benefactor_who_makes_us_barriers_to_foreign_cash_look_like_swiss_cheese_973986.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">follows<\/a> an investigation House Republicans began last year into \u201cwhether entities that qualify as tax-exempt under Section 501 of the U.S. Code are abiding by the statutory and regulatory prohibitions against \u2026 foreign sources of funding \u2026 being funneled through such organizations to influence America\u2019s elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, \u201cthe opaque nature of 501(c)4 independent political expenditure groups makes it impossible to tell whose donations are spent on what,\u201d Hemingway explained. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith Arabella, donors\u2019 money is extremely fungible,\u201d Hemingway wrote. \u201cBecause it is routed through two or three organizations before it gets spent, it is difficult to determine how donations from foreigners such as Wyss are disbursed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago, APT filed a complaint with the FEC over Arabella Advisors and Wyss, Hemingway reported. APT urged the FEC to investigate the flow of money through Arabella Advisors and other super PACs to ensure foreign nationals are not exploiting the loophole in current laws. The complaint was dismissed after the FEC deadlocked 3-3. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7c72e4e2619f6762d1da014c762daeed fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7c72e4e2619f6762d1da014c762daeed\"><\/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>A Swiss billionaire, Hansj\u00f6rg Wyss, aims to reshape the US Constitution through progressive ideals. His Berger Action Fund has contributed hundreds of millions to a left-leaning group. Americans for Public Trust disclosed that the group is heavily investing in state ballot measures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2224311,"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\/04\/pexels-john-guccione-www-advergroup-com-1874301-3564390-e1713451304887.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2224310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-john-guccione-www-advergroup-com-1874301-3564390-e1713451304887.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224310","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\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2224311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}