8: Hayden Ludwig on Dark Money, 'Zuck Bucks,' and Arizona's elections

Hayden Ludwig, director of research at Restoration for America, joined the Grand Canyon Times Podcast to to discuss his recent column, "High Election Worker Turnover' is the Left's Newest Ploy to Federalize Elections."

"Democrats fired the latest salvo in a long war to radically transform American elections by eroding state and local control, replacing ballot-counters with a centralized, D.C.-run bureaucracy," wrote Ludwig in the column. "Their leader: Arizona's famously level-headed secretary of state, Adrian Fontes (D), who believes anyone who dares question the questionable 2020 election is a "MAGA fascist" and "authoritarian" "election denier" spewing 'lies' in order to 'destroy our democracy.'"

Following is a summary of this episode:

Zuck Bucks:

• Ludwig discusses Mark Zuckerberg's donation of $400 million to two nonprofits, primarily the Center for Tech in Civic Life (CTCL) based in Chicago.

• This money was used to aid county election officials in running their elections.

• Ludwig's research suggests that this money favored Democratic cities, potentially influencing the election results.

• Louisiana recently passed an initiative to ban "Zuck bucks," becoming the 26th state to do so.

Dark Money in Politics:

• Ludwig explains that billions of dollars are tied up in thousands of nonprofit organizations that influence politics.

• The left has been more effective at using these nonprofits for political purposes, bypassing traditional party committees.

• This strategy involves registering new voters who are likely to vote Democrat based on demographics.

• Despite the left's significant financial advantage in this area, Ludwig is optimistic about the right's chances due to the Democratic Party's shift from a national to a regional focus.

Election Dynamics:

• • Ludwig believes that the Democratic Party's reliance on specific demographics and neglect of broader outreach will be its downfall.

  • He predicts that the Democratic Party is locking itself out of a majority for the next generation.

  • However, he acknowledges that states with large cities like California, Illinois, and New York still predominantly vote Democrat due to the influence of those cities.

Conclusion:

• Ludwig believes that while immediate changes might not be visible, there will be significant shifts in the political landscape in the coming years.