A Democratic party-funded plan would provide $10 million to fund security for election officials in states targeted by MAGA conspiracists, The New York Times reported Thursday.
“Value the Vote” was launched by the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, according to the report. The group also plans to give funding to register new voters and fight disinformation.
The group has already raised $2.5 million of its $10 million goal, Travis Brimm, the group’s executive director told The Times. It aims to focus on Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada and North Carolina, all of which were the focus of conspiracy theorists in 2020.
The initiative follows the emergence of threats against poll workers that followed former President Donald Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
The growth of such threats has fueled what watchdogs have described as “The Great Resignation” of election workers.
“We’ve seen our election officials come under threat while they’re just trying to do their jobs, and they’re doing a fantastic job,” Brimm told The Times.
“They deserve the ability and the right to feel safe while they’re doing their job.”
Value the Vote officials have pledged to provide equal funding to election workers from both parties, according to the report.
But the prospect of linking security funding to a political party at a time of hyper-partisanship carries its own risks, according to the report.
Nick Corasaniti writes for The Times that: “The safety funding is also likely to serve as an early test of new bans on outside funding of elections in Georgia and Arizona, which passed laws after the 2020 election prohibiting private groups from providing financial help to election officials. The bans were rooted in conservative criticism of grants made by an organization with ties to the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg — money frequently called “Zuckerbucks” by right-wing news outlets.”
“Republicans in the North Carolina legislature, who have veto-proof majorities, are currently seeking to pass a bill that would also ban outside money for election officials.”
