{"id":2336418,"date":"2024-09-04T08:21:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T12:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-big-city-election-shenanigans-are-expanding\/"},"modified":"2024-09-04T08:26:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T12:26:13","slug":"democrats-big-city-election-shenanigans-are-expanding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-big-city-election-shenanigans-are-expanding\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats&#8217; Big-City Election Shenanigans Are Expanding"},"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\">12<\/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%2Fdemocrats-big-city-election-shenanigans-are-expanding%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=2336418&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>Recently, Mark Zuckerberg stated \u200cto \u200cBloomberg that he does not plan to\u200b engage in the 2024 general election \u200blike he did previously, particularly following controversial funding practices \u200cduring the 2020 election,\u2062 often referred to as &#8220;Zuckbucks.&#8221; However, advocates for election integrity caution against\u2062 complacency, highlighting that organizations he once supported are still\u2063 active and potentially aiming to influence rural and suburban areas in the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n<p>One of these organizations, the Center for Tech and\u2063 Civic Life\u200c (CTCL), announced a new &#8220;2024 Rural and \u200cNonmetro\u200c Election Infrastructure Grant Program&#8221;\u2062 intended to \u200bsupport election processes in rural \u200bareas. Critics\u2064 point out that past funding from CTCL disproportionately benefited urban areas that leaned Democratic, raising concerns that new funding in rural areas could similarly be manipulated for partisan gain, potentially worsening election security rather than \u2064improving it.<\/p>\n<p>In Georgia, for example, after the\u200c state banned \u2064Zuckbucks, organizations like Protect Democracy have sought to influence election procedures. Reports\u2062 indicate that they \u200burge officials to certify elections quickly, even amid serious errors, without prioritizing\u2062 the enforcement of secure election \u200bpractices. This pattern of\u2063 behavior \u200bis perceived as \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-will-the-2024-election-be-secure-presidential-candidates-weigh-in-on-the-issue\/\" title=\"2024 Election Security: Candidates&#039; Perspectives\">undermining election security<\/a> in favor of\u200b expedience.<\/p>\n<p>while Zuckerberg claims to step back from electoral financing, the concerns about the impact of nonprofit funding and \u200bits \u200dimplications for election integrity remain \u2062prominent as the 2024 election approaches.  <\/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<div>\n<p>A few days after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/technology\/4781998-mark-zuckerberg-2024-election-no-endorsement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> Bloomberg&rsquo;s Emily Chang he had no plans to get involved in this year&rsquo;s general election as he had in years past, which he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/08\/26\/zuckerberg-meta-white-house-pressure-00176399\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reiterated again<\/a> in a recent letter to the House Judiciary Committee. Even so, election integrity advocates should be slow to breathe a sigh of relief. The election interference issues posed by <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\">&ldquo;Zuckbucks&rdquo;<\/a> in 2020 still endure today through the nonprofit organizations Zuckerberg once partnered with. Not only do these threats still endure, but this year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-backed-jessica-cisneros-surges-in-poll-against-texas-democrat-rep-henry-cuellar\/\" title=\"Far-Left-Backed Jessica Cisneros Surges in Poll Against Texas Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar\">left-leaning organizations<\/a> may have set their sights on expanding their influence in rural and suburban America &mdash; some through grants and some through increased on-the-ground advocacy.<\/p>\n<p>A press release from the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), one of the primary organizations Zuckerberg previously helped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techandciviclife.org\/100m\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fund<\/a>, announced their new &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techandciviclife.org\/our-work\/election-officials\/grants\/2024grants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024 Rural and Nonmetro Election Infrastructure Grant Program<\/a>&rdquo; on Aug. 5. This comes after Republican members of the Committee on House Administration <a href=\"https:\/\/cha.house.gov\/2024\/2\/full-committee-hearing-american-confidence-in-elections-confronting-zuckerbucks-private-funding-of-election-administration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criticized<\/a> election grants as disproportionately helping get-out-the-vote in left-leaning urban areas over rural areas. With this in mind, supporters of CTCL might attempt to argue that this new grant aimed at rural communities is just CTCL&rsquo;s way of correcting past mistakes, but a holistic view of CTCL&rsquo;s problematic tactics point to a more partisan motivation for moving beyond urban neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p>More money for rural counties might sound like a good thing at first, but it&rsquo;s not if the money is coming from groups like CTCL. Although CTCL&rsquo;s funds have disproportionately <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/06\/09\/study-team-zuckerberg-masking-heavily-pro-democrat-tilt-of-2020-election-zuck-bucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">benefited<\/a> Democrats in urban areas in years past, expanding funding to conservative rural areas is not a favorable solution because election grants from groups like CTCL tend to fund less secure voting practices like drop boxes and mobile voting sites. Private grants also led to the suspicious grants of authority to CTCL employees such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2021\/03\/11\/zuckerberg-grant-allowed-outsider-to-infiltrate-presidential-election-in-wisconsin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Michael Spitzer Rubenstein<\/a>, who had an inappropriate amount of access to election facilities and absentee ballot boxes. Expanding CTCL funds to rural counties only expands election insecurity to rural areas.<\/p>\n<p>Nonprofit election grants were so concerning in 2020 that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsl.org\/elections-and-campaigns\/prohibiting-private-funding-of-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">28<\/a> states enacted legislation limiting or banning the use of private funds to run elections, but even states that have banned private funds are not necessarily safe from undue influence from similar organizations. Rural and nonmetro areas in other states are certainly still vulnerable to other forms of nonprofit pressures and should still be alert to the Democrats&rsquo; overarching strategy to claw at rural, nonmetro areas that have traditionally run red.<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Protect Democracy&rsquo; in Georgia<\/h2>\n<p>Georgia is a prime example of how left-leaning organizations have adjusted their struggle for dominance in rural areas after Zuckbucks were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlantanewsfirst.com\/2023\/03\/29\/zuckerbucks-banned-by-georgia-lawmakers-legislative-sessions-last-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">banned<\/a> there. According to local sources, Peter Simmons, an attorney from the nonprofit group Protect Democracy, approached election officials in Macon-Bibb County during the May primary and urged them to certify the election despite a significant ballot mix-up concern that led even the liberal Macon NAACP to request a <a href=\"https:\/\/wgxa.tv\/news\/local\/macon-bibb-naacp-calls-for-election-pause-over-wrong-ballots-and-disability-violations\">pause<\/a> to the election. While Georgia has a certification deadline to keep in mind, it is telling that Protect Democracy has pushed for certification but not the enforcement of other election procedures leading up to certification that would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/4-key-policy-areas-where-the-democratic-leadership-and-black-voters-disagree\/\" title=\"4 Key Policy Areas Where The Democratic Leadership And Black Voters Disagree\">increase election security<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Protect Democracy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0pV5vn9oVxI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proposed<\/a> a rule at a state election board meeting earlier this year that would have greatly limited citizens&rsquo; ability to challenge voter eligibility and assist in voter list maintenance. Protect Democracy also did not support the rule on reconciliation before certification, which merely reiterates and <a href=\"https:\/\/electiontransparency.org\/2024\/08\/13\/follow-the-law-eti-urges-georgia-to-reconcile-the-number-of-voters-to-the-number-of-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">clarifies<\/a> current Georgia law requiring a comparison of the number of ballots cast in each precinct to the number of voters. If the numbers do not match up, the county superintendent is required by law to stop the recording of votes until the discrepancy is resolved.<\/p>\n<p>Election officials should aim for clean voter rolls, timely reconciliation, and timely certification, but Protect Democracy only aims for timely certification and undermines the earlier steps in the process. This effectively promotes not just certification, but certification of inaccurate results.<\/p>\n<h2>Other Leftist Groups<\/h2>\n<p>Protect Democracy and CTCL are not the only leftist groups known to be expanding beyond big cities. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/u-s-digital-response\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Digital Response<\/a> previously received funding from Zuckerberg and partnered with CTCL; it is a member of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teachers-unions-aclu-want-biden-to-extend-student-loan-repayment-pause-cancel-student-debt\/\" title=\"Teachers Unions, ACLU Want Biden To Extend Student Loan Repayment Pause, Cancel Student Debt\">left-leaning organization<\/a> U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence and has <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/u-s-digital-response\/streamlining-the-federal-grant-process-to-empower-small-communities-5b3c85e532ee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proposed<\/a> streamlining the grant process to help small communities. The Atlanta Journal Constitution also recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/politically-georgia\/politically-georgia-democrats-look-beyond-friendly-confines-of-atlanta-in-presidential-race\/UFT73VPYDJC2HCY2CG5S7RHURQ\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> that the Harris-Walz campaign &ldquo;look for votes in November beyond the friendly confines of Atlanta,&rdquo; evidencing a greater trend.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, there have been improvements to election procedures nationwide. Many states have embraced Zuckbucks bans, limited drop boxes, increased the ability to observe the election process, and more. However, there are still vulnerabilities, like mass mail-in voting and unenforced ballot reconciliation, and there are still active nonprofit organizations whose work undermines procedural safeguards.<\/p>\n<p>Practically, this means that election integrity advocates in small towns should stay vigilant about the election process in their county and consider volunteering as a poll watcher or poll worker. Rural or urban, Zuckbucks ban or no Zuckbucks ban, Democrats and nonprofit organizations seek to alter demographics and increase influence wherever they can.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Josh Findlay is the director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation&rsquo;s national Election Protection Project, where Anelise Powers is a policy analyst.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few days following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Facebook&#8217;s founder Mark Zuckerberg informed Bloomberg\u2019s Emily Chang that he did not intend to participate in this year&#8217;s general election as he had in previous years. He reiterated this stance in a recent letter to the House Judiciary Committee. However, advocates for election integrity should remain cautious and not assume everything is secure. The issues surrounding election interference linked to &#8220;Zuckbucks&#8221; from 2020 persist today through nonprofit organizations that Zuckerberg previously supported. These threats are still present, and this year, left-leaning groups may be focusing on increasing their influence in rural and suburban areas\u2014some through grants and others via enhanced grassroots advocacy.<\/p>\n<p>On August 5, the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), one of the main organizations funded by Zuckerberg, announced its new \u201c2024 Rural and Nonmetro Election Infrastructure Grant Program.\u201d This initiative follows criticism from Republican members of the Committee on House Administration regarding election grants that were seen as favoring get-out-the-vote efforts in urban areas over rural ones. While supporters might argue that CTCL&#8217;s new grant program is an attempt to rectify past imbalances, a broader examination of CTCL\u2019s tactics suggests a more partisan agenda aimed at moving beyond urban settings.<\/p>\n<p>While additional funding for rural counties may initially seem beneficial, it becomes problematic if sourced from groups like CTCL. Historically, CTCL&#8217;s funding has disproportionately aided Democrats in urban regions; extending these funds into conservative rural areas does not address underlying issues since such grants often promote less secure voting methods like drop boxes and mobile voting sites. Moreover, private grants have led to questionable authority being granted to CTCL employees who had excessive access to election facilities.<\/p>\n<p>In response to concerns about nonprofit election grants during 2020\u2014prompting 28 states to enact laws limiting or banning private funds for elections\u2014even states with bans are not entirely shielded from similar influences. Rural regions across various states remain susceptible to pressures from nonprofit organizations aiming at influencing traditionally Republican areas.<\/p>\n<p>Georgia exemplifies how left-leaning groups have adapted their strategies post-Zuckbucks ban by targeting rural regions. For instance, Peter Simmons from Protect Democracy urged Macon-Bibb County officials during the May primary elections to certify results despite significant ballot mix-up concerns raised even by local liberal groups like the NAACP seeking a delay. Although Georgia has certification deadlines, Protect Democracy\u2019s push for certification without advocating stronger enforcement of security measures raises red flags about their priorities.<\/p>\n<p>Protect Democracy also proposed rules limiting citizens&#8217; ability to challenge voter eligibility while neglecting necessary reconciliation processes before certification\u2014essential steps meant to ensure accurate vote counts prior to finalizing results.<\/p>\n<p>Other leftist organizations besides Protect Democracy are also expanding their reach beyond major cities; U.S. Digital Response has received funding from Zuckerberg and collaborates with CTCL while proposing streamlined grant processes for smaller communities.<\/p>\n<p>Despite some improvements nationwide regarding electoral procedures\u2014including Zuckbucks bans and increased transparency\u2014vulnerabilities such as mass mail-in voting persist alongside active nonprofits undermining procedural safeguards.<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, advocates for electoral integrity in small towns should remain vigilant about local electoral processes and consider volunteering as poll watchers or workers since both Democrats and nonprofit entities continue seeking ways to shift demographics and enhance influence regardless of geographic location or existing regulations against Zuckbucks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2939,"featured_media":2336419,"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\/08\/52214480708_db95592d72_k-e1725039370725.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[40041,3685,3728,5894,40042],"class_list":["post-2336418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-big-cities","tag-democrats","tag-election","tag-politics","tag-shenanigans"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/52214480708_db95592d72_k-e1725039370725.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336418","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\/2939"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2336418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2336419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2336418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2336418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2336418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}