Dem Org Pours Millions Into Private Security For Election Officials, Policing Election ‘Disinformation’

An organization that aims to elect Democrats to election offices across the country is pouring $10 million into a new nonprofit to provide private security for polling locations and police election disinformation, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State (DASS) is launching Value the Vote ahead of the 2024 election, which has already raised $2.5 million, according to the NYT. The nonprofit will also seek to bolster voter registration in largely Democratic-voting demographics, and is ramping up efforts in five key battleground states — Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada and Wisconsin.

“We’ve seen our election officials come under threat while they’re just trying to do their jobs, and they’re doing a fantastic job,” Travis Brimm, executive director of DASS and now-president of Value the Vote, told the NYT. “They deserve the ability and the right to feel safe while they’re doing their job.”

Value the Vote will provide private security for polling locations, and election officials can also request additional funds that can be allocated toward those efforts, according to the NYT. The organization told the outlet it’s nonpartisan, and will make funding available to election officials of both major political parties.

Such security donations are subject to scrutiny after several state legislatures have banned the use of private money, or “ZuckBucks,” from being funneled into state and local elections, according to the NYT. Brimm told the outlet that the organization will be equipped with legal counsel to abide by those new laws.

“The 501(c)(4) could theoretically provide security services directly to state election officials or at voting or vote-counting sites without charging for them,” Brett Kappel, a campaign finance lawyer at Harmon Curran, told the NYT. “It will take a court to decide if that is prohibited donation of services or whether it falls within the exception for services provided without remuneration.”

The organization will also utilize digital advertisements to combat what it views as disinformation, and will focus its efforts on minorities in black and Latino communities, according to the NYT.

The DASS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.