Milwaukee Set To Accept Nearly $800K From Cryptic Elections Group With Left-Wing Ties

The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is on the verge of accepting an election grant totaling nearly $800,000 from a newly-formed nonprofit organization linked to a virtually unknown, left-wing money group.

The grant is earmarked for various purposes, the Urban Milwaukee reports, including upgrading equipment for processing absentee ballots, enhancing the visibility of polling places, utilizing text messaging to engage with voters, and fortifying the city’s election operations center. 

The biggest ticket item the grant would cover is two new tabulators used for rapidly imaging and processing ballots.

The Democrat stronghold is in line to receive a $796,500 election grant from Cities Forward, a group that presents itself as a “nonpartisan effort focused on helping cities around the country make participation in the democratic process a priority.”

Other than the group’s mission statement, little information is available about its origins or membership. Shawn Fleetwood of The Federalist reports that the organization’s website offers scant details, and that pertinent financial information is pending disclosure.

Fleetwood was able to identify Trevor Ostbye as the leader of the organization. Ostbye is formerly associated with pro-voter reform and voting rights initiatives at the Democracy Fund, a group known for its support of left-leaning causes. He has also been an advocate for cities’ role in disseminating election-related information, and has been cited in publications like “The Democracy Protection Playbook.”

Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall has expressed enthusiasm for accepting the funding from Cities Forward, emphasizing its potential to facilitate nonpartisan improvements in election infrastructure.

The issue of election grants took on a partisan dimension following the controversy surrounding grants provided by a Mark Zuckerberg-backed nonprofit during the 2020 election. 

Wisconsin received $10.1 million in “Zuckbucks” from the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL), which “distributed a total of 31 grants above the $5,000 minimum to Wisconsin cities and townships,” the Capital Research Center reported.

In 2020, Milwaukee received the fourth largest amount of funds per capita.

Milwaukee’s consideration of the Cities Forward grants coincides with impending voting on a constitutional amendment in Wisconsin, aiming to restrict election officials from accepting private funding for elections. The vote is scheduled for April 2.

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