Keystone Today

A recent Foundation for Government Accountability research report claims that funds donated by Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, to a nonprofit organization may have impacted the results of the 2020 election, including in the Keystone State.

The Zuckerbergs gave $350 million to the Center for Technology and Civic Life, a nonprofit group founded by a former Obama Foundation fellow. The CTCL, a nonpartisan technology lobbying organization, lists companies such as Facebook and Google as key funders and partners. 

The Zuckerbergs awarded grants to help states deal with COVID-19 challenges during the election to "safely serve every voter." However, the funds were largely not used on PPE or COVID-19 expenses but rather to influence Democratic voter turnout, the FGA research report claims.

The paper entitled, "How 'Zuckerbucks' Infiltrated and Influenced the 2020 Pennsylvania Election," by Trevor Carlsen, senior research fellow, and Hayden Dublois, senior research analyst, details how the Zuckerberg grant money was used to get out the vote and influence Democratic voter turnout. 

FGA alleges that the funds "actually impacted the results of the election in some states," including Pennsylvania, which was a key to Joseph Biden winning the presidency.

"Preliminary data shows that CTCL funneled more than $20 million into 23 Pennsylvania jurisdictions, plus the Pennsylvania Department of State," the FGA report indicates. 

CTCL has yet to disclose full details of its grants during the 2020 election, however. The authors studied currently available information, including what data reported in an APM Reports story. 

FGA found that $2.5 million granted to Chester County was the second highest amount in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia also received a large sum. 

"The $2.5 million that went to Chester County, which received the second most generous grant in Pennsylvania, was more than the county’s entire 2020 budget for voting services. Additionally, according to the list of grants announced by CTCL, Pennsylvania was one of only two states to receive a statewide grant," FGA reported.

"Philadelphia, which is only slightly larger than Allegheny County, received nearly five times as many Zuckerbucks. The makeup of the electorate in the two counties is telling. Democrats account for 76% of the electorate in Philadelphia, compared to only 57% in Allegheny County," FGA reported. "Curiously, in the case of Dauphin County, an original grant request of $206,471 was later more than doubled. This county narrowly went for Hillary Clinton in 2016. But in 2020, Joe Biden increased the Democrat vote total here by 22%, more than offsetting President Donald Trump’s increased performance. Biden ended up winning Dauphin County by more than 12,500 votes."

"There is some evidence that Zuckerbucks had an impact on the election results by mobilizing Democrat voters. More than 90% of counties that receive Zuckerbucks saw an increase in Democrat votes that offset the change in Republican votes," the report said.

In Pennsylvania, a majority of the counties voting for Biden also received a majority of the funds from Zuckerberg. 

Zuckerberg’s millions were distributed through a group that claims nonpartisan, yet actually favored Biden, the Capital Research Center claims. Legal Newsline reported on CRC's investigation into Zuckerberg's millions to the CTCL. 

"The latest investigation into the funneling of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s millions through a nonprofit to local election officials shows that in addition to ensuring safe elections - the group’s stated mission - another agenda was afoot – swaying the presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden," Legal Newsline reported. 

The Capital Research Center (CRC) also delved into the donations of the CTCL and focused on its influence in Nevada and Arizona. CRC discovered the same dynamic in Pennsylvania: Zuckerberg's money was given to counties with strong Democratic majorities in which a larger turnout would favor Biden, Legal Newsline reported. 

The IRS prohibits election influencing, even by nonprofits, and in some states private money is banned in the administration of elections.