![]() Cobb said the private money was critical for election administration this year, "but over time, it in and of itself is corrosive." She said continuing to use private money for such purposes "sullies in a way that we don't need it to be sullied at all."īut other election analysts say private funding is the best option if the federal government isn't going to commit to sustainable long-term funding for election offices. "It's really important that it's a one-time thing," said Rachael Cobb, associate professor of political science and legal studies at Suffolk University in Boston. For example, Zuckerberg may have wanted to improve his public image after years of criticism that the misinformation and divisive rhetoric on Facebook have damaged democracies around the world. They say private donors could have a personal agenda. While some election officials see little difference between private and government funding for elections, other officials are deeply worried about the precedent that the private grants may set. The nonprofit is also continuing to offer grants to communities that are holding runoff elections in Georgia in January. "In this moment of need, we feel so fortunate to be administering an open-call grant program available to every local election department in every state in the union to ensure that they have the staffing, training, and equipment necessary so that this November every eligible voter can participate in a safe and timely way and have their vote counted," the Center for Tech and Civic Life said in a statement on Sept. The documents show requests mainly focused on the logistics of the election: increased pay for poll workers, expanded early voting sites and extra equipment to more quickly process millions of mailed ballots. APM Reports obtained more than 30 applications and grant agreements between local election offices and the Center for Tech and Civic Life. In late October, the group listed the jurisdictions that received funding on its website but didn't disclose dollar amounts or funding priorities for each jurisdiction.īut through a series of interviews, public records requests and a review of public meetings, APM Reports pieced together the details of grant awards in the five swing states that decided the election. The Center for Tech and Civic Life declined repeated interview requests from APM Reports to discuss the funding and how it was used. The full extent of the grants isn't known. The couple awarded $400 million to nonprofits for election assistance - with most of it going to the Center for Tech and Civic Life. With little action from Congress, the private sector, led by Zuckerberg and Chan, stepped up.
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