The utilization of private funds in the elections administration process has emerged as a topic of contention in the debate over election integrity.
State Rep. Wes Allen (R-Troy), candidate for Alabama secretary of state, announced on Thursday that he had filed a bill with the state legislature to ban such practices.
Allen’s legislation, House Bill 41, would bar state and local election officials from soliciting or accepting money or services from private and non-governmental entities for the purpose of election-related expenses. Voter education, outreach or voter registration are activities for which the bill prohibits the use of private funds.
According to a release, violation of the proposed law would carry a Class B misdemeanor. The bill’s full text can be seen here.
Allen made mention of the fact that in 2020 the Center for Tech and Civic Life distributed grants, which were funded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, to election administrators nationwide.
Seven Alabama counties were recipients of the grants: Montgomery, Macon, Wilcox, Jefferson, Hale, Dallas and Bullock Counties.
“We have now seen evidence that Mark Zuckerberg spent millions of dollars to “assist” local election officials across the country, mostly in liberal-leaning counties, by providing funds and personnel to work in various stages of the elections process,” Allen noted. “This absolutely should be banned immediately. No private person or corporation should be involved in the funding, staffing or administration of any aspect of the elections process. Period.”
Allen advised that election officials hold no legitimate reason to use such funds to carry out their duties in the administration process.
He concluded, “As a former Probate Judge, I administered 18 elections without a single error and I can tell you that there is no reason to apply for, accept or use any private money for the administration of our elections. We have to get ahead of this and put a hard stop to it before our next election cycle.”
The Alabama House of Representatives will consider Allen’s legislation during its next legislative session, which will begin in January.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
