News Story

Left-Wing Group Funneling Money To Lansing Voter Outreach, Triggers Election Law Complaint

‘Targeting a demographic to increase turnout’ is flip side of targeting ‘to suppress the vote’

A deep-pocketed left-wing political group trying to influence elections around the country is the target of a complaint filed with Wisconsin election officials over a practice that is also occurring in Michigan.

The Wisconsin Voters Alliance filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Election Commission, challenging millions of dollars in grants given to local governments in heavily Democratic cities by the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which just received $250 million from Facebook.

The alliance claims that the progressive nonprofit is giving the grants to cities that traditionally vote heavily Democratic in order to selectively boost turnout in these areas.

“We’ve seen government playing favorites in elections before,” said Phill Kline of the Thomas More Society, which represents the Wisconsin Voters Alliance, according to PR Newswire. “Through much of last century, southern states made it difficult for blacks to vote and easy for white citizens to vote, promoting racism in the manner that they orchestrated their elections. Government targeting a demographic to increase turnout is the opposite side of the same coin as targeting a demographic to suppress the vote.”

The Center for Technology and Civic Life has ties to progressive organizations, as previously reported by Michigan Capitol Confidential.

It has also given $443,742 to the city of Lansing.

President Donald Trump won the state of Michigan in 2016 but lost in Lansing by a wide margin.

In the 2016 presidential election, 60.24% of Lansing voters cast their ballot for Hillary Clinton and 32.88% voted for Trump.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.