Officials with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit from residents of Green Bay who claim the city and the WEC violated laws when accepting a grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life.
The suit will appeal a decision handed down from the WEC, after the original complaint contended that the laws were broken when the city agreed to terms that were required to receive the funds.
The Center for Tech and Civic Life is an organization funded by Mark Zuckerberg and gave the city of Green Bay $1.6 million to assist with the administration of their elections. The city used the funds for a host of priorities, including paying poll workers.
The original complaint from the group against the city’s mayor and the WEC was filed in April 2021 and was reviewed by the elections commission. After sourcing the project to a special commission, the ruling determined no laws were broken.
“First, although Complainants assert that Respondent Wolfe supported the City of Green Bay’s decision to accept the CTCL grant funding, Complainants fail to identify any specific action or statement on the part of Respondent Wolfe in which she allegedly provided such support,” the decision said.
“In light of its conclusion that there is no probable cause to find that the acceptance of the CTCL grant money violated election law or constituted an abuse of discretion, the Commission need not address Respondents’ other defenses, including those concerning timeliness and whether the Mayor, Chief of Staff, and former City Clerk are even proper parties to an action that relates to grant money accepted by the Common Council of the City of Green Bay.”
Similarly, another Zuckerberg-funded group, the Center for Election Innovation and Research, dished out $12 million in Michigan to “educate voters.” However, the overwhelming majority of the funds were awarded to Democratic operatives.
– – –
Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mark Zuckerberg” by Mark Zuckerberg. Background Photo “Voting Booths” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.
