Republican Accepted ‘Zuckerbucks’ however Pushed Election Fraud Principle Anyway

A Republican candidate for Kansas secretary of state is being known as out for welcoming a controversial elections help grant and later blasting his opponent for doing the identical factor.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab in a tweet on Friday accused his main opponent Mike Brown of hypocrisy for saying the Fb-linked elections grants undermined safety however earlier voted to just accept the cash as a county commissioner. The dust-up is the newest as 2020 grants linked to Fb founder Mark Zuckerberg have continued to generate controversy in Republican politics.

“Brown says one factor however does one other,” Schwab tweeted. “When somebody exhibits you who they are surely, consider them. Brown has demonstrated a scarcity of integrity by accepting personal cash for election administration and hypocritically passing the buck.”

Schwab’s tweet was in response to a vote Brown forged in October 2020 whereas serving on the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners to just accept a $856,245 grant from the Middle for Tech and Civic Life.

Connie Schmidt, the county’s then-election officer, defined the cash could be used to buy tools, practice employees and cope with different problems from the will increase in mail-in and early voting introduced on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Good shock; Good reward,” mentioned Brown earlier than voting to just accept the cash. “Thanks very a lot. Large assist.”

Zuckerberg and his spouse Priscilla Chan have given at the least $400 million to the Middle for Tech and Civic Life. In keeping with the Chicago-based nonprofit, it distributed practically $350 million in grants to native election workplaces to assist overcome earlier underfunding and pandemic challenges.

The grants have come beneath scrutiny after former President Donald Trump claimed the 2020 election was marked with rampant voter fraud, a declare that has been repeatedly debunked by courts, audits and the members of the president’s personal administration.

With heightened considerations over voter fraud, a number of Republican-led states, together with Kansas, have since banned personal election grants over considerations they have been used to affect how elections are carried out.

Brown’s marketing campaign has centered on election integrity, pledging to take away poll drop bins and tighten early voting. In a March Fb submit, he criticized Schwab for accepting $2.3 million in “Zuckerberg Cash.” Calling his opponent “Asleep-at-the-Wheel Schwab,” Brown mentioned he ought to have identified who was behind the cash earlier than permitting the contribution.

A 2021 audit discovered that 25 counties in Kansas acquired a complete of $2.3 million in grants from the Middle for Tech and Civic Life, which it mentioned prompted some political considerations. Nonetheless, “there have been no obligations related to the acceptance of the CTCL grant,” the audit concluded.

Newsweek reached out to the campaigns for Brown and Schwab.