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Congresswoman Tenney Reintroduces End Zuckerbucks Act

March 15, 2023

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24), co-chair of the Election Integrity Caucus, today reintroduced the “End Zuckerbucks Act” in the 118th Congress. This bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations from directly funding official election organizations through donations or donated services. 

Original cosponsors of the “End Zuckerbucks Act” include Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-7), Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (WI-5), Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-3), Rep. Tom Cole (OK-4), Rep. Barry Moore (AL-2), Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-5), Rep. Mary Miller (IL-15), Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-8), Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-4), and Rep. Bill Posey (FL-8).

In the 2020 election, Mark Zuckerberg, under the guise of the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL)—a liberal non-profit group—flooded left-leaning county governments in Texas, Ohio, Nevada, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and Pennsylvania with opaque private funding to influence election administration for their own purposes.

CTCL used this money as leverage over cash-strapped election agencies, forcing them into advancing its own partisan agenda. Millions of dollars from Zuckerbergs' wallet flooded the field under the guise of “making voting safer amid the pandemic,” yet less than 1% of those funds were spent on PPE, and 92% of the funds went to left-leaning districts.

Since then, CTCL has been using its subsidiary organization, the Alliance for Election Excellence, to provide heavily discounted services to certain jurisdictions. This includes in-depth consulting services that can help shape the voting processes without democratic input from residents.

“CTCL funneled Mark Zuckerberg’s personal wealth to election agencies of his choosing without a shred of transparency or accountability,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “This kind of influence operation by a third party in America’s elections undermines public confidence in the democratic process. It puts private donors in charge of dictating to government agencies what should and should not be done. We cannot allow organizations like this to flout the law or continue their partisan, private funding of our elections. The Election Integrity Caucus and I will continue to lead the charge to safeguard our nation's elections and restore transparency and accountability.”

The full text of the bill is available here.

Tenney is the founder and co-chair of the House Election Integrity Caucus in Congress. With more than 60 members, the Caucus is dedicated to preserving the sanctity of our elections and boosting confidence in the democratic process.

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