Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson invited David Becker of “Zuckbucks” election meddling group CEIR to tout Michigan’s elections as “more secure” than “ever” in a Monday press conference, despite Becker’s history of running groups that undermine election security.
“David is going to share how early voting here in Michigan and nationwide helps ensure the security and safety of our elections,” Benson said in the conference, later thanking Becker for his work “to strengthen our democracy.”
Becker is founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR), the group that used close to $70 million in “Zuckbucks” from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to influence election administration and promote Democrat-backed voting practices ahead of the 2020 election.
During the conference with Benson, Becker pitched policies like early and mail-in voting, claiming they offer “tremendous security benefits,” and are the reason why “Michigan in 2024 is more secure than Michigan has ever been.”
“It’s why voting overall in the United States in 2024 is more secure, transparent, and verified than it’s ever been before,” Becker claimed.
Less Secure, Transparent, and Verified
Michigan voters approved no-excuse absentee voting in 2018, and Benson sent absentee ballot applications to every registered voter statewide in 2020, according to the Detroit Free Press. Mass mail voting is criticized as insecure because it bypasses election security measures like having a voter show a matching photo ID at his polling place and because bloated or outdated voter rolls can lead to ballots being sent to the wrong address. When the Public Interest Legal Foundation notified Benson in 2020 that there were 25,975 dead registrants on Michigan’s voter rolls, she failed to take action.
Michigan voters in 2022 approved nine days of early voting ahead of state and federal elections, also allowing voters to submit a signed affidavit instead of a photo ID when voting in person or requesting an absentee ballot.
In the press conference, Becker advocated the use of electronic poll books or “e-poll books,” calling them “better than any system that we have.” On Saturday, the first day of Michigan’s early voting before the Aug. 6 primary, a state server malfunctioned, making it difficult for some county clerks “to connect to the early voting e-poll book.” Benson said other applications caused a “spike in activity” on the server that caused difficulties “across the state.”
She said the problem was “quickly addressed” and that “backup procedures” enabled voting to continue.
The Canton Township clerk reportedly had to switch to paper tabulation from 8:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. on Saturday when the technology began working again, according to The Detroit News. “The problem was resolved statewide by 1 p.m.,” the local news outlet reported.
Benson insisted in the press conference that, “overall,” state election clerks reported “early voting [went] smoothly through the weekend” and that there were “no major problems.”
According to Benson, “more than 10,600 voters had cast a ballot at an early voting site in Michigan” by the time the early voting locations closed on Sunday, around 6,400 of which voted on the day of the malfunction. According to Benson’s office, nearly 700,000 residents have already cast an absentee ballot in the primary.
Partisan Motives
Both Becker and Benson have a history of involvement with leftist groups and initiatives.
Brad Schlozman, who was Becker’s boss at the Justice Department in the early aughts, has described Becker as a“hard-core leftist” who “couldn’t stand conservatives.” While working at the DOJ, Becker faced a complaint for offering to help the city of Boston fight a DOJ voting rights lawsuit — a move Schlozman called the “most unethical thing” he had seen. The ethics investigation uncovered emails with “nasty, disparaging remarks about Republicans,” according to Hans von Spakovsky, who was also at the DOJ at the time.
In 2012, Becker founded the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a multi-state online voter roll “maintenance” platform where states submit election data supposedly to help remove dead and duplicate voters. But ERIC shares that data with CEIR, so the groups can determine unregistered individuals to target with registration efforts.
Virginia — one of multiple states that have withdrawn from ERIC — found roughly 100,000 dead individuals and about 68,000 nonresidents whom ERIC had nonetheless added to a list of supposedly “eligible but unregistered” voters, a report from the Public Interest Legal Foundation found earlier this year.
In addition to Becker’s group CEIR funneling millions in “Zuckbucks” to election agencies in 2020, CEIR also reportedly obtained Virginia voter data for its own research and an “outreach study” the same year. CEIR worked with ERIC that year on a massive registration push in the state. Becker stepped down from his nonvoting position on ERIC’s board after a number of Republican-led states withdrew from the group.
Becker cited his “lifelong work in nonpartisan election policy” to defend his record to The Federalist. He cited a special commendation for merit while working in the Bush DOJ and a letter from individuals he referred to as “conservatives” — some with ties to leftist election groups — to support his point.
“I am very happy to stand on my record,” Becker said.
The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), the other primary “Zuckbucks” recipient, funneled close to $350 million to election administrators in 2024 to influence elections, according to InfluenceWatch. Between CEIR and CTCL, the funding acted as a Democrat get-out-the-vote effort.
Becker told The Federalist CEIR has given a “complete accounting” for the “Zuckbucks” program, and cited its grants to red states that Trump won in 2020. He said CEIR “offered grants to every single state for the purpose of nonpartisan voter education related to the pandemic.”
CEIR also gave nearly $12 million in 2020 to the Michigan Center for Election Law and Administration (MCELA), according to The Michigan Star. MCELA then sent $11 million in “consulting fees” to Democratic firms for supposedly “nonpartisan voter education,” according to InfluenceWatch.
When The Federalist asked Becker about this, he referred to CEIR’s report about its 2020 program.
The founder of MCELA was none other than Jocelyn Benson. She founded the group in 2008 and served as its president until February 2020, according to InfluenceWatch.
Becker told The Federalist he “can’t pinpoint” when he began working with Benson, but that he worked with other secretaries of state before her.
“I and CEIR work with election officials all across the country, of both parties,” Becker said to The Federalist, claiming the group’s “work is strictly nonpartisan” and that he has “also worked extensively with Republican election officials.” But a number of states, including Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Virginia, Texas, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Alabama, and Louisiana, have cut ties with ERIC as concerns about its partisan bias grow.
Becker declined to give further details on “what capacity” he and Benson have been working together.
Benson also sits on the circle of advisers at the National Vote At Home Institute (NVAHI), which shares leadership ties with CTCL. When Amber McReynolds, then-CEO of NVAHI, suggested Benson interpret existing law to enable a permanent absentee voting option in 2019, Benson forwarded the guidance to her staff to “explore” the recommendation.
The Federalist reached out to Benson’s office for comment, but did not receive an answer in time for publication.
