In 2020, government election offices across Missouri received millions of dollars from a billionaire who resides far from the rolling hills of Mark Twain National Forest, the iconic St. Louis Arch, and the bustling suburbs of Kansas City.
Mark Zuckerberg, the California Facebook billionaire, funneled millions into our state with grant dollars disproportionately favoring Democrat-held districts.
FGA’s latest research, utilizing extensive records requests and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, reveals three disturbing trends about the grants and how the money was ultimately used.
And the total amount of the grants was not determined based on population. Rather, amounts tracked with blue votes. The average grant amount per registered voter for a Biden-carried jurisdiction was more than 50 percent larger than the average for those that Trump carried.
Meanwhile, Jefferson County, which completes the district, did not receive Zuckerbucks, and vote margins between parties followed past trends.
Instead, counties spent a quarter of a million dollars on new, non-pandemic-related voting equipment, paying poll workers, and “voter education.” In some cases, the money was more blatantly misused as it was in Boone County. Officials there spent the funds on producing a music video and radio spot with local rap artists.
Legislators attempted to ban private funding of local election offices last year but ran out of time at the end of session. Now is the time to prioritize this reform, however, with the 2022 midterms on the horizon.
Continuing to allow billionaires to interfere with voting operations sets a dangerous precedent for the security and integrity of future elections. Elections aren’t a commodity to be bought and sold—Missourians deserve better. Voters should go to the polls confident their vote will be cast and counted without interference from out-of-state groups or the partisan agendas of big corporations and special interest groups.
Last election, it was Mark Zuckerberg. In the next election, it could be a whole host of other wealthy tech tycoons or special interest groups with Missouri elections in their sights.
Missouri legislators have a chance to stop out-of-state, big-tech billionaires and corporations from interfering in our elections by completely banning third-party funding of election offices—they should take that chance before it’s too late.