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In 2020, Joe Biden secured 65% of 303,465 votes, compared to the 61% votes earned by Hillary Clinton in 2016. Grants to voting officials, funded almost entirely by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, weren’t offered in 2016.
In Tennessee, Democrat turnout rose 34.2% in areas which received the funding, while increasing 30.8% in areas which did not.
The Republican Party earned 18.5% more votes in Tennessee districts assisted by the CTCL, compared to 21.8% in jurisdictions without similar funding.
Support for Trump increased in Davidson 1% in 2020.
There were 60,336 more votes cast in Davidson in the 2020 election than in 2016.
Davidson was one of 1 Tennessee 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | Yes | 1.8 | 4.6 |
| Anderson County | No | 0.6 | 2.7 |
| Bedford County | No | 0.4 | 1.2 |
| Benton County | No | 3.5 | 2.2 |
| Bledsoe County | No | 4.2 | 2.4 |
| Blount County | No | 0.9 | 3.6 |
| Bradley County | No | 0.7 | 3.1 |
| Campbell County | No | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| Cannon County | No | 3.6 | 2 |
| Carroll County | No | 2.5 | 1 |
| Carter County | No | 0.4 | 2.1 |
| Cheatham County | No | 0.1 | 2.7 |
| Chester County | No | 0 | 0.6 |
| Claiborne County | No | 1.7 | 0.1 |
| Clay County | No | 4.6 | 3.2 |
| Cocke County | No | 1 | 0.7 |
| Coffee County | No | 1.3 | 0.3 |
| Crockett County | No | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Cumberland County | No | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Decatur County | No | 2.5 | 2.2 |
| DeKalb County | No | 4 | 2 |
| Dickson County | No | 1.9 | 0.5 |
| Dyer County | No | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Fayette County | No | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Fentress County | No | 2.7 | 1.1 |
| Franklin County | No | 2.7 | 1.3 |
| Gibson County | No | 2.1 | 1.1 |
| Giles County | No | 2.5 | 1.2 |
| Grainger County | No | 1.7 | 0 |
| Greene County | No | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Grundy County | No | 5.6 | -4.1 |
| Hamblen County | No | 0.6 | 2.6 |
| Hamilton County | No | 1.9 | 5 |
| Hancock County | No | 3.8 | 1.2 |
| Hardeman County | No | 4.2 | -3.6 |
| Hardin County | No | 2.3 | 0.9 |
| Hawkins County | No | 2 | 0.5 |
| Haywood County | No | 0.9 | 0.4 |
| Henderson County | No | 1.7 | 0.2 |
| Henry County | No | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| Hickman County | No | 4 | 1.7 |
| Houston County | No | 4.9 | 3.7 |
| Humphreys County | No | 5.3 | 3 |
| Jackson County | No | 4.7 | 4 |
| Jefferson County | No | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Johnson County | No | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| Knox County | No | 2.5 | 6.4 |
| Lake County | No | 4.5 | -3.4 |
| Lauderdale County | No | 2.9 | 2.2 |
| Lawrence County | No | 2.6 | 0.9 |
| Lewis County | No | 2.1 | 0.2 |
| Lincoln County | No | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Loudon County | No | 1.5 | 2.6 |
| Macon County | No | 1.8 | 0.5 |
| Madison County | No | 0.7 | 2 |
| Marion County | No | 3.8 | 2.1 |
| Marshall County | No | 2.7 | 0.7 |
| Maury County | No | 0.3 | 2.3 |
| McMinn County | No | 1.2 | 0.3 |
| McNairy County | No | 2.5 | 1.2 |
| Meigs County | No | 3.4 | 1.6 |
| Monroe County | No | 2.4 | 0.6 |
| Montgomery County | No | 1.4 | 4.5 |
| Moore County | No | 2.1 | 0.8 |
| Morgan County | No | 3 | 1.5 |
| Obion County | No | 1.9 | 0.7 |
| Overton County | No | 5.1 | 3.4 |
| Perry County | No | 5 | 3 |
| Pickett County | No | 3.9 | -2.6 |
| Polk County | No | 3.1 | 1.4 |
| Putnam County | No | 0.5 | 2 |
| Rhea County | No | 2.1 | 0.3 |
| Roane County | No | 0.9 | 1 |
| Robertson County | No | 1.1 | 1.3 |
| Rutherford County | No | 3.8 | 6.9 |
| Scott County | No | 3.6 | 2.2 |
| Sequatchie County | No | 2.5 | 0.6 |
| Sevier County | No | 1.4 | 2.6 |
| Shelby County | No | 0.6 | 2.2 |
| Smith County | No | 4.9 | 2.8 |
| Stewart County | No | 5.5 | 3.5 |
| Sullivan County | No | 0.5 | 3 |
| Sumner County | No | 2 | 4.4 |
| Tipton County | No | 1.3 | 0.3 |
| Trousdale County | No | 6.8 | 4.7 |
| Unicoi County | No | 0.4 | 1.9 |
| Union County | No | 2.7 | 0.8 |
| Van Buren County | No | 4.9 | 3.7 |
| Warren County | No | 3.8 | 1.5 |
| Washington County | No | 2 | 4.7 |
| Wayne County | No | 0.8 | 0 |
| Weakley County | No | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| White County | No | 2.5 | 0.8 |
| Williamson County | No | 2.8 | 6.5 |
| Wilson County | No | 2.1 | 4.5 |
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