Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane was contacted directly by CTCL and, as head of the Idaho Clerk’s Association, Phil encouraged all of the county clerks in Idaho to apply for this money. 20 of our 44 counties did apply for and received some money.

The amount of money each of the 20 counties received varied with their level of registered Democrat voters. Many counties got $5,000. Some got more. Ada County got by far the most at just under $500,000.

She’s not saying the Facebook money in Idaho had strings attached…this time. However, that did happen in other states. Even in Idaho there are some major red flags that can’t be swept under the rug:

• None of the clerks notified the Secretary of State about this money. There was no state reporting, transparency, or oversight.
• This money was not used for a candidate or a ballot measure, but for the actual operation of our public elections.
• The money was not equally distributed. Counties with a higher percentage of Democrats received more money per voter.

Ada County applied for $215,000 but was given $500,000 - more than twice as much as they requested. Even then, Phil McGrane did not consult with the Secretary of State.

Now Phil is campaigning to become Secretary of State himself. We do not need his lackadaisical judgement supervising our election security in Idaho!

Private money, no matter where it comes from, should not be used to fund the operation of our elections.

That is why Senator Mary Souza was the FIRST state lawmaker in America to draft legislation banning private dark money, like Zuck Bucks, from being used to operate our public elections.