Facebook CEO Trashed By Angry Red-State Citizens

Along with 27 other states, Wisconsin has increased the barriers to financial political meddling for wealthy ideologues like Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook.

Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, has repeatedly rejected bills intended to prevent “Zuckerbucks” from meddling in Badger State elections. The Republican-controlled legislature of the state successfully voted to place related constitutional changes on the April primary ballot, reasoning that they would yield the last say on the topic to their citizens.

Voters were asked to consider whether to amend Section 7(1) of Article III of the Wisconsin Constitution, which would forbid state employees and all levels of government from seeking, receiving, spending, or using funds or equipment “in connection with the work of any primary, election, or referendum if the funds or equipment are donated by a person or nongovernmental entity.” This was the first question on the ballot on Tuesday.

The Wisconsin Voter Alliance, Election Integrity for Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, and several other organizations committed to preserving American elections from outside influence supported this proposed amendment.

Zuckerberg’s massive funding of election administration during the pandemic, according to critics, was anything but benign: the funds helped thousands of voters support then-candidate Joe Biden in 2020; the majority of voter outreach funds went to strategically significant left-leaning cities; Democrats benefited specifically from “Zuckerberg illegal absentee ballot drop boxes scattered across Wisconsin”; and the entire scheme amounted to a cunning plan by leftist billionaires to circumvent campaign finance laws.

Days before the vote, state senator Eric Wimberger (R), one of the amendment’s sponsors, stated that Republicans are “securing our elections by ensuring sure local election officials, not out-of-state billionaires, are in control of running Wisconsin’s elections.”

“In previous election cycles, millionaires from outside the state have donated funds to Wisconsin local governments, influencing and even controlling the electoral process,” stated Wimberger. “However, corporate funding and out-of-state entities with no accountability should not be handling Wisconsin’s elections. “Local nonpartisan politicians ought to oversee them, and community members should foot the bill.”

Another supporter of the proposal, state representative Tyler August, shared an infographic on X last month that said, “Wisconsin got over $10 million in Zuckerbucks in 2020 alone. The five heavily Democratic communities of Madison, Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Green Bay received 85% of that funding.”

NBC News reported that Zuckerberg’s foundation, the Center for Tech and Civic Life, acted as a middleman for this $10 million donation from him and his spouse.

Leftists, including Democrats, were against the amendment.

Among the organizations that supported billionaires and dark money was the ACLU of Wisconsin, which declared, “Our democracy depends on local election officials having the staff and resources to do their duties.” The same legislators that placed these ballot issues on the ballot also withheld millions of dollars from the state budget to support the election administration.”

Tuesday’s vote featured a second issue that sought to modify the state constitution to “allow only election officials appointed by law to execute responsibilities in the administration of primaries, elections, and referendums.”

The New York Times reported that 54.4% of voters responded “yes” to the first question and almost 59% of respondents answered “yes” to the second question, with over 95% of the votes cast at the time of publication.

As of January, 27 states—21 of which were under Republican control—had passed legislation restricting or outlawing the use of private funds for election administration, according to Ballotpedia.

Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming declared victory after the vote. Wisconsin has made its voice known, and it is quite evident that voters, not billionaires from out of state, should decide elections. Wisconsinites have moved past Zuckerbucks and protected our elections from dark money sources because of the Republican Party of Wisconsin’s initiatives and grassroots mobilization.”

The conservative organization, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which backed the changes, also applauded the Tuesday outcome.

“There should be no outside influence on the fairness, impartiality, or administration of our elections. Voters made it very evident that they wanted to keep private funding out of the election administration with today’s results, according to a statement from WILL president and general counsel Rick Esenberg. “Wisconsin becomes the 28th state to pass legislation today prohibiting the use of private funds for the fair administration of elections. Ensuring the fairness and integrity of our elections should be a common concern, regardless of one’s political affiliation.”