The Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed a lawsuit against DeKalb County, Georgia, seeking public records related to funding the county received from the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence.
In May 2023, Governor Brian Kemp signed a law banning private funding for election administration. This legislation stemmed from the $400 million in grants provided by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to election offices during the 2020 pandemic, which were used to boost Democratic voter turnout.
The RNC alleges that DeKalb County received a $2 million grant in 2023 from the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, despite Georgia's ban on private election funding. The Alliance is part of the supposed nonpartisan Center for Tech and Civic Life, which had distributed Zuckerberg's 2020 grants.
When the RNC requested records to confirm the grant, county officials took months to respond and provided very few documents.
In early 2023, DeKalb County was selected as one of the initial “Centers for Election Excellence” by the organization, which included a $2 million award to support election administration efforts and share best practices with other counties.
The grant has sparked renewed scrutiny similar to that surrounding “Zuckerbucks,” with some media alleging an obvious partisan agenda.
Read the lawsuit here.
