The Louisiana House recently passed a constitutional amendment proposal banning the use of private money in elections.
Louisiana House Approves Constitutional Amendment To Keep ‘Zuckbucks’ Out Of Electionshttps://t.co/VxCpK0pHbs
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) May 19, 2023
House Bill 311 states that “[n]o funds, goods, or services donated by a foreign government or a nongovernmental source shall be used to conduct elections unless provided for in the election code and subject to restrictions provided by general law.” The bill successfully cleared the House by a vote of 70-30, receiving the majority support required to advance constitutional amendment proposals.
If approved by the state Senate, the proposed amendment would need approval from Louisiana voters to ratify it and amend the state constitution. According to the legislation, the proposal would appear on the ballot for Louisiana’s elections in October 2023.
During the 2020 presidential election, nonprofits such as the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) received millions of dollars from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg.
These “Zuckbucks” were used in local election offices in battleground states around the U.S. to change how elections were conducted. Such changes included the expansion of voting protocols such as mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes.
In the lead-up to the 2020 election, Louisiana received approximately $1 million “Zuckbucks,” according to the Capital Research Center.
Before the 2024 elections, the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, an $80 million “mission” by left-leaning nonprofits to “systematically influence every aspect of election administration” and advance voting policies in local election offices supported by Democrats.
In a recent report, the Honest Elections Project and the John Locke Foundation revealed how the Alliance seeks to provide election offices with “scholarships” to cover membership costs, which can be “converted into ‘credits’ that member offices can use to buy services from CTCL and other Alliance partners.”
In states where “Zuckbucks” are prohibited or restricted, the Alliance’s strategy slightly differs.
During an interview with the Federalist, Jason Snead, the executive director of the Honest Elections Project, explained that since election offices in these states are banned from accepting or using “Zuckbucks,” groups such as the CTCL would accept interested offices to “buy their way [into the Alliance] for a relatively small sum.”
The strategy allows “the Alliance to spread its influence even in states where lawmakers have tried to prevent it,” Snead said.
Louisiana’s approval of House Bill 311 makes the state the 26th to ban or restrict the use of private money in elections.
