FEC unanimously rejects complaints about Zuckerberg’s 2020 election grants
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A unanimous bipartisan vote this summer by the Federal Election Commission has undercut fantastical claims about Mark Zuckerberg’s role in the 2020 election that have taken hold among GOP leaders, candidates and activists decrying “Zuckerbucks.”
The claims originate in the more than $400 million donated in fall 2020 by Zuckerberg, the chief executive and founder of Meta, and his wife, Priscilla Chan, to a pair of nonprofits that provided grants aiding state and local governments with election administration in light of the challenges posed by the coronavirus.
The couple touted the contributions at the time, saying, “Inadequate public funds and a global pandemic have led to unprecedented challenges for election administrators throughout the country, and we are doubling down on our commitment to ensuring that every qualified jurisdiction has the resources it needs to allow every eligible citizen to vote safely and have their vote counted.”
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The grants, dispatched to blue and red areas of the country alike, were used to buy masks and plexiglass dividers, among other tools designed to keep voters and elections officials safe.
The funding from Zuckerberg, however, soon became kindling for the firestorm unleashed by former president Donald Trump and his allies as they questioned the legitimacy of the Nov. 3, 2020, vote.
The move against private funding of election administration has remained primarily a GOP cause, but it did gain a measure of bipartisan support in Virginia and a handful of other states.
The regulator rejected those claims in a series of 6-0 votes — a show of unity by the commissioners, who are split evenly by party. The votes took place in July, and attorneys for Zuckerberg and Chan were notified of the decisions in an Aug. 8 letter that was made public Thursday.
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