Congresswoman Tenney Applauds Virginia Gov. Youngkin for Approving Bill to Ban "Zuckerbucks'

Statement

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22), co-chair of the House Election Integrity Caucus, today applauded Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin for approving a ban on "Zuckerbucks' in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The measure bans private donors from bankrolling public elections in Virginia without oversight or accountability, as they did across the country in 2020.

HB 205, sponsored by Delegate Otto Wachsmann Jr., will bar the Department of Elections and local elections boards from soliciting, accepting, using, or disposing of "any money, grants, property, or services given by a private individual or nongovernmental entity for the purpose of funding voter education and outreach programs, voter registration programs, or any other expense incurred in the conduct of elections." Governor Youngkin approved the bill yesterday after it was passed by the State House in March.

""Zuckerbucks' are an opaque and corrupt influence operation intended to manipulate our free and fair elections. As co-chair of the House Election Integrity Caucus, I have been working to shine a light on this crooked practice and bring it to an end. I am glad to see Virginia take this step to stop the corrupt influence of "Zuckerbucks' once and for all. I applaud Governor Youngkin and Delegate Wachsmann for their leadership on election integrity," said Tenney.

The election of our public officials is one of the most basic principles of our nation. There can be no questions regarding this process. Our government must make certain our elections process is free from any outside influences and these bills are an important step toward keeping outside money from influencing our electoral board and registrar's decisions. I want to thank Congresswoman Tenney for bringing this practice to light, so that we can address it in Virginia," said Wachsmann.

In the 2020 election, Mark Zuckerberg used a non-profit organization called the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) to shell out $350 million to local boards of elections ostensibly to provide safety protocols to voting sites. However, the funding was funneled in a partisan manner with the vast majority spent on Democrat-leaning counties or election precincts. In addition, the money was provided with little-to-no oversight or transparency, and reports indicate it was used to fund advertising, vehicle purchases, and other activities unrelated to the pandemic.

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney introduced the End Zuckerbucks Act last year to bar private organizations from providing direct funding to official election organizations. A recent report from a Wisconsin special counsel found $9 million of "Zuckerbucks' given by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to local boards of elections violated state bribery laws.

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