River Bend Times

Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz received a grant for COVID-19 relief funded through a Chicago nonprofit organization for $286,870.

The Center for Technology and Civil Life (CTCL) awarded her the grant as part of a $250 million donation from Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, River Cities' Reader said on its website. 

"Concerned Iowans contacted attorneys with the Amistad Project about filing a federal lawsuit similar to the ones funded by the Chicago-based nonprofit organization Thomas More Society which has filed suits in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania," River Cities' Reader said on its website. "The Iowa Voters Alliance (IVA) was formed and a complaint opposing this grant on grounds that it violated federal election law, including a request for a temporary injunctive relief, was filed in Iowa's Northern District Federal Court Monday, Oct. 5."

The complaint said federal election law prohibits states from accepting private funds, but CTCL said counties and municipalities can accept their funds because they are not states. Election officials are also saying grants like these are needed during the coronavirus pandemic when campaign funding isn't what it typically would be during a non-pandemic election year. 

"In her defense, Moritz claims she believed the grant to be sanctioned by Secretary of State Paul Pate's office, who is a Republican," River Cities' Reader said on its website. "Iowa auditors were introduced to CTCL and invited to apply for its grants during a statewide conference this past summer arranged by Pate's election officer. Still, it's hard to misinterpret the obvious partisan tilt of this particular NGO and its Zuckerberg-funded mission."

But the funding from CTCL has strategic partners, many of which have roots to local and state election offices, which happen to be staffed by former CTCL employees. 

"The dangers in allowing private money into local governments' election coffers, otherwise mandated to be funded by tax dollars, cannot be overstated. This is unprecedented. All of the Scott County Board of Supervisors ran for cover instead of demonstrating leadership by moving to stop this overt partisan election interference," River Cities' Reader said on its website. "As Americans, regardless of support for Biden or Trump in this election, we should all be deeply offended by any partisan interference, regardless of which party benefits, via infusions of private resources to influence any part of government, but especially to influence elections."