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In 2020, Joe Biden secured 19% of 12,287 votes, compared to the 18% votes earned by Hillary Clinton in 2016. Grants to voting officials, funded almost entirely by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, weren’t offered in 2016.
In Indiana, Democrat turnout fell 28% in areas which received the funding, while increasing 114.4% in areas which did not.
The Republican Party earned 62.1% more votes in Indiana districts assisted by the CTCL, compared to 35.6% in jurisdictions without similar funding.
Support for Trump increased in Decatur 0% in 2020.
There were 889 more votes cast in Decatur in the 2020 election than in 2016.
Decatur was one of 6 Indiana areas where voting officials received money from the progressive Centre for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL). A $350 million donation from Facebook founder Zuckerberg and his wife provided funding for the grants.
Grants from the organization, ranging from $5,000 to $19 million, were given to voting officials in exchange for specific conditions being followed. This included strategically targeting voters, creating ballots and developing what are known as “cure letters” to correct ballots at risk of being thrown out for discrepancies in signatures.
The influx of private money on such a large scale was criticized throughout the contentious 2020 election.
The CTCL was sued by Louisiana’s Attorney General in October 2021 “to prevent the injection of unregulated private money...and protect the integrity of elections in the State.” The lawsuit wasn’t allowed to proceed by a State judge.
Criticism of the CTCL also stemmed from favoring “predominantly Democratic counties” and even gave them a headstart to apply for funding, according to emails obtained through Right-to-Know requests.
“Mark Zuckerberg is providing nearly as much money to this year’s election administration as the federal government,” Phil Kline with the Amistad Project said in a late October 2020 press release.
The US government, in the run-up to the 2020 election, was criticized for underfunding the electoral process at a critical time.
| Area | Received CTCL Funding? | % Change in Republican Support | % Change in Democratic Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | Yes | 0.8 | 1.2 |
| Lake | Yes | 19.1 | -16.6 |
| LaPorte | Yes | -9.8 | 12.9 |
| Marion | Yes | 27.1 | -24 |
| Posey | Yes | 2.2 | 0.6 |
| Washington | Yes | 2.7 | 0.3 |
| Adams County | No | -50.9 | 53.8 |
| Allen County | No | -13.8 | 16.8 |
| Bartholomew County | No | -27.8 | 31.6 |
| Benton County | No | -45.8 | 49.6 |
| Blackford County | No | -43.5 | 46.1 |
| Boone County | No | -21.5 | 26.4 |
| Brown County | No | -29.3 | 32.6 |
| Carroll County | No | -49.2 | 52.7 |
| Cass County | No | -39.9 | 43 |
| Clark County | No | -18.8 | 21.4 |
| Clay County | No | -54.8 | 57 |
| Clinton County | No | -45.5 | 48.5 |
| Crawford County | No | -38.2 | 41.6 |
| Daviess County | No | -61.2 | 63.4 |
| Dearborn County | No | -60.9 | 63.8 |
| DeKalb County | No | -46 | 49.2 |
| Delaware County | No | -11.7 | 15.2 |
| Dubois County | No | -38 | 42.1 |
| Elkhart County | No | -28.8 | 31.5 |
| Fayette County | No | -49.7 | 52.9 |
| Floyd County | No | -15.7 | 18.5 |
| Fountain County | No | -55.3 | 57.3 |
| Franklin County | No | -60.9 | 62.9 |
| Fulton County | No | -46.8 | 49.8 |
| Gibson County | No | -46.7 | 49.1 |
| Grant County | No | -37.6 | 40.5 |
| Greene County | No | -51.5 | 53.9 |
| Hamilton County | No | 11.3 | 15.1 |
| Hancock County | No | -39.3 | 43 |
| Harrison County | No | -43.4 | 46.2 |
| Hendricks County | No | -27.4 | 30.8 |
| Henry County | No | -42.6 | 46.1 |
| Howard County | No | -31.7 | 34.6 |
| Huntington County | No | -48.7 | 51.9 |
| Jackson County | No | -50.8 | 53.8 |
| Jasper County | No | -45.6 | 48.7 |
| Jay County | No | -48.6 | 51.5 |
| Jefferson County | No | -30.9 | 33.8 |
| Jennings County | No | -53.2 | 56.3 |
| Johnson County | No | -36.5 | 39.9 |
| Knox County | No | -46 | 48.5 |
| Kosciusko County | No | -51.2 | 54.4 |
| LaGrange County | No | -51.3 | 54.5 |
| Lawrence County | No | -49.7 | 52.2 |
| Madison County | No | -22.6 | 25.6 |
| Marshall County | No | -39.3 | 42.9 |
| Martin County | No | -57.2 | 60 |
| Miami County | No | -51.6 | 55 |
| Monroe County | No | 27.9 | -23.6 |
| Montgomery County | No | -48.7 | 51.3 |
| Morgan County | No | -45.3 | 47.8 |
| Newton County | No | -47.3 | 50.8 |
| Noble County | No | -47.9 | 50.9 |
| Ohio County | No | -50.9 | 43.3 |
| Orange County | No | -45.6 | 47.8 |
| Owen County | No | -47.5 | 50.8 |
| Parke County | No | -52.5 | 55.1 |
| Perry County | No | -19.8 | 23.3 |
| Pike County | No | -50.8 | 53.7 |
| Porter County | No | 4.7 | 8.2 |
| Pulaski County | No | -45.4 | 48.8 |
| Putnam County | No | -48.5 | 51.2 |
| Randolph County | No | -49.2 | 51.7 |
| Ripley County | No | -57.1 | 59.6 |
| Rush County | No | -51.2 | 54.9 |
| Scott County | No | -40.2 | 43.1 |
| Shelby County | No | -45.6 | 49.3 |
| Spencer County | No | -36 | 39.6 |
| St. Joseph County | No | 4.5 | 1.6 |
| Starke County | No | -43.3 | 45.6 |
| Steuben County | No | -41.6 | 44.4 |
| Sullivan County | No | -47.8 | 49.7 |
| Switzerland County | No | -45.9 | 50.3 |
| Tippecanoe County | No | 3.7 | 1.7 |
| Tipton County | No | -51.8 | 54.2 |
| Union County | No | -53.2 | 55.4 |
| Vanderburgh County | No | -11.9 | 14.6 |
| Vermillion County | No | -36.4 | 39.3 |
| Vigo County | No | -13.5 | 16.3 |
| Wabash County | No | -48.9 | 51.4 |
| Warren County | No | -52 | 54.7 |
| Warrick County | No | -29.4 | 32.4 |
| Wayne County | No | -28.3 | 30.9 |
| Wells County | No | -55 | 57.6 |
| White County | No | -41.7 | 45.4 |
| Whitley County | No | -48.6 | 51.6 |
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