FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 2, 2021
Contact: Prudence Robertson, probertson@sbalist.org, (240) 672-2828
Election Integrity Is Neither Right nor Left—It’s Just Commonsense
Washington, D.C. – The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed two pieces of election integrity legislation helping ensure fair, transparent, and accountable elections voters can trust, sending both bills to the desk of Governor Roy Cooper.
Importantly, Senate Bill 725 would prevent private ideological groups, corporations, big tech companies and possible foreign interlopers from funding local elections to selectively affect turnout. The legislation would prohibit the State Board of Elections, county boards of elections, and county boards of commissioners from accepting private monetary donations—commonly referred to as “Zuckerbucks” after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg—directly or indirectly, for conducting elections or employing individuals on a temporary basis. Tar Heels expect state and local government authorities that run elections to remain neutral in those elections, but “Zuckerbucks” violate that principle and undermine confidence and transparency in our elections.
Vetoed by Cooper today, the “Election Day Integrity Act” (Senate Bill 326) would require that, except for military and overseas voters, all completed applications and marked mail-in absentee ballots be returned to the county board by 7:30 P.M. on the day of the election, with certain exceptions.
National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli praised the legislation saying:
“We are grateful to the House and Senate for advancing this important legislation sorely needed in North Carolina to help restore voters’ trust in the democratic process and ensure that private and foreign money can’t be selectively funneled into local elections. Make no mistake, the corrupting influence of big tech oligarchs like Mark Zuckerberg manipulates the official voting apparatus and dilutes the voice and votes of Tar Heels in order to affect turnout. We urge Governor Cooper to put politics aside in favor of North Carolina elections in which it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat, and to sign Senate Bill 725 into law without delay.”
The Election Transparency Initiative, a partnership between American Principles Project (APP) and the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), was organized to combat H.R. 1/S. 1 and advocate for state-based election reforms that voters can trust.
###
