Keystone Today

A recent analysis alleges that money donated from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was used to influence the 2020 Pennsylvania election.

The New York Post reported that donations from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg were distributed in a way that favored Democratic counties in Pennsylvania leading up to the 2020 election. A report by Broad & Liberty showed that those counties were given early notice of the funds' availability and a higher rate of dollars per voter.

Keystone Today also published a report citing claiming that emails revealed that an official with the governor's office and the secretary of state only emailed Democratic-leaning counties to apply for grant applications.

"It wasn’t until after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced a $250 million donation to the nonprofit Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) on Sept. 1 that an invitation to all counties was sent -- a month and a half after counties like Philadelphia, Allegheny and Delaware had been invited," according to Todd Shepherd, chief investigative reporter with Broad & Liberty.

The Thomas More Society, a group of conservative lawyers, has also argued that the aim of the grants was to benefit Democrats. "But federal judges have declined to halt the funding to counties in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Iowa and South Carolina, saying they see no partisan tilt in the grants, which were also given to many rural and Republican counties," The Washington Post reported. "CTCL delivered the grants to more than 2,300 election departments using a formula that links funding to the district’s voting population." 

In response to the accusations of inequality, Zuckerberg's spokesperson Ben LaBolt told the New York Post, "Nearly 2,500 election jurisdictions from 49 states applied for and received funds, including urban, suburban, rural and exurban counties."

According to his website, Pennsylvania State Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Butler) has introduced a federal bill addressing this issue, giving it the name "End Zuckerbucks Act." This bill would "ban 501(c)(3) organizations from donating to official government elections administrators." 

State Rep. Eric Nelson (R-Hempfield Township) has also introduced a bill to ensure transparency and equitable distribution of money that funds Pennsylvania’s elections, according to Pennsylvania House GOP.