One of the most concerning things to emerge from the wreckage of the 2020 election was the revelation that Mark Zuckerberg had funneled hundreds of millions of dollars through an election nonprofit to bankroll election management in critical battleground races.
Virginia's newly minted Republican leaders, meanwhile, have sized up that particular approach to U.S. elections and declared loudly: "Nah, no thanks."
The General Assembly of Virginia successfully passed a series of bills this week that would prohibit state and local election officials from accepting certain gifts and funding from private individuals or nongovernmental entities that would impact how elections are conducted within the Commonwealth.
Passed by both the state's House of Delegates and Senate, HB 205 (and its companion SB 80) would mandate that "The State Board, the Department, each local electoral board, and all offices of the general registrar shall not solicit, accept, use, or dispose of any money, grants, property, or services given by a private individual or nongovernmental entity for the purpose of funding voter education and outreach programs, voter registration programs, or any other expense incurred in the conduct of elections."
Let's hear it for Virginia, which was already (ahem) the greatest state in the union!
It's nice to see the Virginia GOP getting so busy after two years of relentless Democratic rule in the state.
I guess if you're Mark Zuckerberg it doesn't feel so great to be boxed out of funding and controlling the state's election machinery. I'm sure he'll get over it of course.
Other states, go and do likewise!
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