Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Nearly 20 states have restricted private funding of elections

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg

Nearly half the states have passed laws restricting private election funding such as the money donated by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2020.

Ian Tuttle/Getty Images

In 2020, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated more than $400 million to state and local governments to boost election administration funding. Since then, more than a dozen states, nearly all controlled by Republicans, have passed laws banning such private contributions.

The funds, which were administered by a pair of nonprofits, were used to train poll workers, purchase protective gear and upgrade election equipment amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The money covered gaps in states’ limited budgets for elections.

Since 2021, 15 states have instituted prohibitions on private funding for elections, according to the Capital Research Center, a right-leaning think tank. Similar bills are awaiting the governor’s signature in Alabama and Missouri, while Texas and West Virginia have created regulations instead of bans.


All of these states have Republican governors, except Kansas and Kentucky. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the Kansas bill, but the Legislature overrode her action. And in Kentucky, the bill allows state officials to make exceptions for some outside funding instead of instituting an outright ban.

Made with Flourish

The National Institute for Civil Discourse noted in a recent report that “a consensus exists within the election administration community that elections are underfunded nationwide, even if they are more underfunded in some places than others.”

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

According to that report, states spend about the same amount on elections as they spend on public parking facilities. And with the federal government only sporadically contributing funds, private donations played a key role in closing the gap during the 2020 cycle.

But with some states banning private funding (plus Zuckerberg and Chan saying they will not be donating again this year), election officials may be hard-pressed to cover all their costs.

A group of Democratic senators introduced a bill last week that would provide $20 billion in federal funds for election administration. But the legislation faces a difficult path to approval in the Senate.

But conservatives have been fighting against private funding almost since the announcement from Zuckerberg and Chan, arguing that such “privatization” undermines elections. The Thomas More Society is still trying to get the court system to declare the use of Zuckerberg-Chan funds illegal in Wisconsin, although so far they have failed to win their case.

With legal battles failing, legislation has proved to be a more successful path for people trying to cut off private funding.

Georgia and Kansas were the first to enact bans, in March 2001, followed a month later by Arizona, Arkansas and Georgia.

Read More

It's Time to Acknowledge America’s Constitutional System is Broken and Begin Building a New One
Can the Constitution stop the government from lying to the public?
Can the Constitution stop the government from lying to the public?

It's Time to Acknowledge America’s Constitutional System is Broken and Begin Building a New One

Commentators and political figures are now engaged in heated debates about whether America is experiencing a constitutional crisis. I admire their fortitude and dedication to our Republic, but they miss the most important point.

The crisis has already arrived, showing that constitutional designs are failing. Rather than trying to defend the status quo, it is time to build new ways to institutionalize democracy and the rule of law. The difficulty of getting on with that work was illustrated on February 27 when Harvard Law School assembled a distinguished panel of experts to consider the question, “Is the U.S. experiencing a constitutional crisis?”

Keep ReadingShow less
Just The Facts: Mass Deportations
barbed wire
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Just The Facts: Mass Deportations

Our ongoing series, “Just the Facts,” strives to approach news stories with both an open mind and skepticism, so we may present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we look to remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces.

How many deportations have there been since President Trump was elected?

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump’s Ukraine ceasefire plan and Putin’s skepticism
an old tank sitting in the middle of a forest

Trump’s Ukraine ceasefire plan and Putin’s skepticism

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cast doubt on the feasibility of a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, arguing that such a truce could provide Kyiv with an opportunity to regroup and acquire additional military aid from the West. Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, Putin emphasized that any cessation of hostilities must be accompanied by firm assurances that Ukraine will not use the pause to bolster its military capabilities.

He further insisted that Western nations must halt military assistance to Kyiv if they are genuinely committed to securing a ceasefire. The proposal, which has been floated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, comes at a critical juncture in the ongoing conflict, with both Russia and Ukraine engaged in intense combat across multiple fronts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Just The Facts- Impact of Department of Education Cuts
The future of civic education
Getty Images

Just The Facts- Impact of Department of Education Cuts

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

How many jobs are being cut from the Department of Education, and what percentage of the total workforce is that?

Keep ReadingShow less