Private Election Donations, Grants Banned in Ozaukee County

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PORT WASHINGTON, Wis., -- The Ozaukee County Board passed a resolution July 6 banning the acceptance of donations and grants from any non-governmental entity for the Administration of Ozaukee County Elections. This includes, but is not limited to collection of ballots or voter registration.

The vote passed 16 to 7 with Supervisors Joshua Haas, Barbara Jobs, Thomas Grabow, John Hagen, Scott Rishel, Timothy Maguire and Anne Watts all voting no

Cedarburg Supervisor David Irish brought forth the bill to be forward thinking, he said.

"We don't want private money in our county for election administration...regardless of intent," Irish said. "...This will open the door to questions about the integrity of our elections, the vote tally and the true influence of this money."

Mequon Supervisor Bruce Ross said he is all for election integrity and the perception of election integrity, but questioned the need for the board to take up the issue.

"I'm wondering why we are taking this up right now," he said, adding that passing the resolution could be seen as a partisan action and politically charged.

Port Washington Supervisor Richard Nelson also did not see the need to pass the resolution, saying it was "a wonderful solution to a problem we don't have."

According to research conducted by Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, 216 Wisconsin communities received more than $10.3 million in total from the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL). The CTCL receives most of its funding from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, his wife. Many municipalities received $5,000. The five communities that received larger sums of money were Milwaukee, $3,409,500; Racine, $1,699,100; Green Bay, $1,600,000; Madison, $1,271,788; and Kenosha, $862,799, according to information provided by WILL.

The breakdown of spending includes 12 different categories. Some of which include: vote-by-mail/absentee voting equipment and supplies, election administration equipment, poll worker recruitment/hazard pay and training, temporary staffing, and nonpartisan voter education or NVE.

NVE could include outreach to local residents and funding events like Democracy in the Park that occurred in Madison. More than 17,000 voters turned in their absentee ballots at parks around the city due to that event.

"The bulk of the money was spent in left-leaning municipalities that voted 71.5% for Joe Biden relative to about 49.4% statewide," WILL's data said in their report. "For President Biden there was a statistically significant increase in turnout in cities that received CTCL grants."

Reforms for a remedy could come in two ways, WILL reported, either ban the practice all together or take steps to ensure funds are distributed equitably. Wisconsin State Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) and Rep. Adam Neylom (R-Pewaukee) will be proposing legislation to attack these issues.

Ozaukee and Washington counties did not accept any CTCL funds.

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