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Federal agencies are working with left-wing organizations to turn their field offices around the country into so-called ‘get out the vote’ centers, including a focus on reversing rules or statutes in states that prevent convicted felons from voting.
The initiative stems from an executive order signed in March 2021, just weeks after he took office. EO 14019 is “often referred to by critics as ‘Bidenbucks,’ which alludes to ‘Zuckerbucks,’ the approximately $400 million from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg widely alleged to have been funneled through left-leaning nonprofits to turn out the Democratic vote in the 2020 presidential election,” Just the News reported.
Left-wing organizations collaborated with the Department of Justice to devise strategies for implementing Biden’s executive order to utilize the federal government for voter registration.
This collaboration commenced following assistance from one of those groups to the Biden administration in crafting the executive order.
The order states: “The head of each agency shall evaluate ways in which the agency can, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, promote voter registration and voter participation,” including “soliciting and facilitating approved, nonpartisan third-party organizations and state officials to provide voter registration services on agency premises.”
The outlet noted further:
Similar to “Bidenbucks,” “Zuckerbucks” came to notice when the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) poured about $350 million into local election offices managing the 2020 election, with most of the funds donated to the nonprofit by Zuckerberg. The nonprofit has claimed its 2020 election grants—colloquially known as “Zuckerbucks” — were allocated without partisan preference to make voting safer amid the pandemic.
However, a House Republican investigation found that less than 1% of the funds were spent on personal protective equipment. Most of the funds were focused on get-out-the-vote efforts and registrations in areas heavily leaning [toward] Democratic candidates.
Controversy ensued following revelations about the disproportionate amount of private funding directed towards Democratic districts, with claims that the imbalance influenced the outcome of the 2020 election in Biden’s favor. According to the Capital Research Center, 28 states have either restricted or prohibited the use of private funds to finance elections, while 12 counties have also imposed restrictions or bans on such funds.
Public records obtained by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project reveal that the Department of Justice (DOJ) held a “listening session” in July 2021 with various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss the implementation of “Bidenbucks,” the outlet’s report noted further.
Heritage discovered that all participants from NGOs, whose political donations or party affiliation could be identified, were Democrats except for one Green Party member.
Just the News listed several of the participating NGOs: AFL-CIO, AFSCME; The American Civil Liberties Union; The Anti-Defamation League; Black Voters Matter; Brennan Center for Justice at NYU; Common Cause; Democracy Fund; Demos; End Citizens United/Let America Vote; The Fair Elections Center; Fair Fight Action; FairVote; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights; The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; The Mexican American Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF); NAACP; National Education Association; National Urban League; Native American Rights Fund, League of Women Voters; Open Society Policy Center; and The Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition comprising 240 left-wing non-governmental organizations (NGOs), includes the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, which Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke led before assuming her current position in the Biden administration.
The public records contained notes from the DOJ’s listening session with the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), highlighting one of the primary concerns: ensuring that prison inmates are registered to vote and discussing strategies to restore voting rights for felons.
One of the NGOs, Demos, published a document on Dec. 3, 2020, titled, “Executive Action to Advance Democracy: What the Biden-Harris Administration and the Agencies Can Do to Build a More Inclusive Democracy.”
It “lays out a series of executive actions the new administration can take in partnership with federal agencies to help ensure the integrity of our elections and strengthen opportunities for civic participation for all Americans, particularly black and brown Americans.”
Included in the plan, per Just the News:
1. Direct federal agencies to provide voter registration services.
2. Strengthen the Department of Justice’s enforcement of and guidance on voting rights statutes.
3. Support the Election Assistance Commission in its efforts to strengthen access to voting and voter registration.
4. Create an Office of Democracy and Civic Innovation within the White House.
5. Strengthen the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to deliver election mail and other critical mail to all Americans.
6. Ensure access to Federal Bureau of Prison data needed to end prison-based gerrymandering.
