Concord Ledger

In Dunbarton, where voting officials received funding from a Mark Zuckerberg-related organization, Democrat support rose 28.8% from 2016 to 2020.

In 2020, Joe Biden secured 43% of 2,030 votes, compared to the 38% earned by Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Support for Trump increased in Dunbarton 5.2% in 2020.

Dunbarton was one of 65 New Hampshire areas where voting officials received money from the progressive Centre for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL). A $350 million donation from Facebook founder Zuckerberg and his wife provided funding for the grants.

Grants from the organization, ranging from $5,000 to $19 million, were given to voting officials in exchange for specific conditions being followed. This included strategically targeting voters, creating ballots and developing what are known as “cure letters” to correct ballots at risk of being thrown out for discrepancies in signatures.

Democrat support across New Hampshire areas that received funding from the CTCL rose 22.5% in 2020 from 2016.

Such support was unchanged in New Hampshire areas that didn’t receive any funding from the CTCL.

The Republican Party earned 5.2% more votes in New Hampshire districts assisted by the CTCL, compared to 100% in counties without similar funding.

The influx of private money on such a large scale was criticized throughout the contentious 2020 election.

The CTCL was sued by Louisiana’s Attorney General in October 2021 “to prevent the injection of unregulated private money...and protect the integrity of elections in the State.” The lawsuit wasn’t allowed to proceed by a State judge.

Criticism of the CTCL also stemmed from favoring “predominantly Democratic counties” and even gave them a headstart to apply for funding, according to emails obtained through Right-to-Know requests.

“Mark Zuckerberg is providing nearly as much money to this year’s election administration as the federal government,” Phil Kline with the Amistad Project said in a late October 2020 press release.

The US government, in the run-up to the 2020 election, was criticized for underfunding the electoral process at a critical time.

Area	Received CTCL Funding?	% Change in Republican Support	% Change in Democratic Support
Allenstown	Yes	2.5	20.1
Auburn	Yes	11.5	23.9
Barrington	Yes	10.7	32.3
Bethlehem	Yes	8.2	28.3
Boscawen	Yes	14.5	11.8
Bow	Yes	2.3	26.7
Bristol	Yes	10.4	34.5
Candia	Yes	9.6	21.5
Charlestown	Yes	6.9	13.8
Conway	Yes	8	24.4
Danville	Yes	6.7	25.8
Derry	Yes	1.9	20.4
Dorchester	Yes	-8.8	105.9
Dublin	Yes	9.2	14.9
Dunbarton	Yes	9.3	28.8
Ellsworth	Yes	33.3	73.1
Exeter	Yes	1.1	23.7
Franconia	Yes	6.4	12.2
Fremont	Yes	2.8	19.3
Groton	Yes	18.4	26.8
Hampstead	Yes	3.7	26.9
Hampton Falls	Yes	5	25.7
Hill	Yes	18.2	27.3
Hooksett	Yes	3.8	18.2
Jackson	Yes	100	31.9
Kingston	Yes	11.1	21.7
Lebanon	Yes	6.1	20.4
Lisbon	Yes	9.1	34.7
Litchfield	Yes	3.8	29.8
Londonderry	Yes	7.7	29.7
Loudon	Yes	10.4	31.1
Lyman	Yes	23.1	38.1
Marlborough	Yes	8.1	13.4
Merrimack	Yes	3.7	36.2
Milford	Yes	7.1	21.7
Mont Vernon	Yes	6.4	33.6
Moultonborough	Yes	5.8	39.8
Nashua	Yes	1.9	18
New Boston	Yes	13.6	32.2
New Durham	Yes	13	25.8
New Hampton	Yes	9.9	28.1
New Ipswich	Yes	10.8	25.1
Newmarket	Yes	4.8	25.2
Newton	Yes	5.5	28.9
North Hampton	Yes	0.5	27.2
Northfield	Yes	7.9	26.9
Northumberland	Yes	13.9	9.6
Nottingham	Yes	8.6	29.6
Randolph	Yes	5.1	16.3
Salem	Yes	7.1	25.9
Sanbornton	Yes	9.6	17
Springfield	Yes	3.3	27
Thornton	Yes	13.2	30.2
Troy	Yes	14.5	20.6
Tuftonboro	Yes	13.6	29.8
Webster	Yes	11.1	9.8
Wentworth	Yes	100	60
Whitefield	Yes	18.8	33.7
Woodstock	Yes	8.7	27
Berlin	Yes	4.9	9.9
Claremont	Yes	4	14.5
Dover	Yes	5.3	28.1
Keene	Yes	-1.7	13.4
Manchester	Yes	2.9	18.1