Zoom conference call with elections expert John Fund

The 2020 presidential election was decided by just 43,000 votes in three states, so even small and difficult to detect instances of fraud could have made a big difference. None has been convincingly uncovered, but it has come to light that philanthropic grants exceeding $400 million by Zuckerberg's foundation were made to state and local election administration offices to assist in getting out the vote. That is perfectly legal and admirable, except the grants were made selectively and disproportionately to predominantly Democratic jurisdictions. In Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania relative turnout gains compared to 2016 in Zuckerberg-funded counties favored Democrats heavily, and far more than enough to explain Biden's winning margins in those states. The grants were governed by contracts that called for representatives of the grant-making organizations selected by the foundation, which themselves had long histories of affiliation with Democratic causes. Philanthropic grants to election administration offices have now been outlawed in 11 states. The off-year election in Virginia was an example of effective reform in the handling of mail-in ballots, and the civic engagement of poll-watchers and election workers.