All articles tagged with #election funding
Eric Adams lost a lawsuit against the Campaign Finance Board over public matching funds due to procedural issues and a dismissed federal bribery case, but his team remains optimistic about securing the funds in the future.
Businessman Timothy Mellon donated $50 million to MAGA Inc., significantly boosting the super PAC supporting Donald Trump. This contribution is part of a larger trend of massive donations from megadonors on both sides of the political spectrum, making this election cycle potentially the most expensive ever. Other notable donations include Michael Bloomberg's $19 million to Biden's top super PAC and significant contributions from venture capitalists and other wealthy individuals.
Republicans, led by Trump, have successfully pushed for bans on private election funding in Wisconsin, following a campaign against Mark Zuckerberg's donations to nonpartisan nonprofits in 2020. This has led to a nationwide movement to restrict private election grants, leaving election offices struggling for funding. The conspiracy theory that the funds benefited Democrats has been debunked, but experts warn that misinformation around private grants is likely to grow heading into the 2024 election, potentially undermining election integrity for political gain.
Wisconsin voters approved two constitutional amendments banning private money for elections and affirming that only election officials can administer elections, in response to grants received in 2020 funded by donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Republicans supported the amendments, claiming the funds favored Democratic strongholds, while Democrats opposed them, arguing they could hinder voter participation. The measures were brought to circumvent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and were not subject to his approval.
India's Supreme Court has declared the Electoral Bonds system, which allowed anonymous and unlimited donations to political parties, as unconstitutional, posing a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. The system, in place since 2017, was challenged for hindering transparency in political funding. The court reinstated corporate donation limits, directed the State Bank of India to cease issuing such bonds, and mandated disclosure of bond buyers' identities and information on bonds redeemed by each political party. The decision aims to address concerns about the influence of money in politics and the lack of transparency in political funding.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a law banning donations to county election offices, making it a felony for local governments to accept money from nonprofit organizations that gave millions of dollars during the 2020 presidential election. The move comes after the Center for Tech and Civic Life, funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, contributed more than $400 million to election offices nationwide during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans in Georgia and across the country have made limiting outside election money a priority. Voting rights groups and Democrats said the ban will lead to underfunded elections and longer lines unless county governments spend more taxpayer money to accommodate high turnout.