Nonpartisan Nonprofit Election Administration Assistance

There’s a great article over at the Chronicle of Philanthropy about the rapid growth in philanthropic funding for nonpartisan election administration and integrity. The range of support provided is extremely broad.  For example, the article says,

    “Funders and nonprofits threw support behind election offices, which are often underfunded and under siege. They provided     equipment, technical assistance, and pro bono legal support to fight lawsuits, and even bulletproof windows and parking lot     lights.”

Of course, there’s so much election misinformation these days, it’s hard to judge which philanthropic interventions improve elections and which could possibly undermine them. As the article points out,

    “While many organizations stress their nonpartisan status, they are often viewed as working on behalf of a     political candidate. As philanthropy dollars flow in, fears of partisan motivations could erode the very trust in elections     that groups seek to fortify, says Hale of the Election Center. ‘There’s real suspicion that private funds are being used to design     what is a public process.'”

I recommend the whole article.

–Benjamin Leff