Mark Zuckerberg may have promised to stay out of future elections, but it seems that his influence hasn’t disappeared. Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl in Wisconsin has been working closely with a group funded by Zuckerberg to help guide the 2024 election process. Emails obtained through a Freedom Information Act request revealed Witzel-Behl’s close association with the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL). This organization is the same one that provided “Zuckbucks” (also referred to as “Zuckerbucks”) to important swing states during the last presidential election.

Back in 2020, CTCL funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into election agencies, strategically favoring areas that leaned left and boosting Democratic voter turnout. After getting a taste for this kind of influence, they launched the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence in 2022. What is this alliance’s mission? To collaborate with other left-leaning groups and weave themselves into every nook and cranny of election administration in target offices. According to the Honest Elections Project, this isn’t just about “helping out” but systematically influencing the process.

Enter Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl, who’s had a longstanding relationship with CTCL and now the Alliance. She joined CTCL’s training program on “combating election misinformation” — you know, because all of that alleged misinformation out there is apparently ruining democracy. But instead of focusing on improving actual election security, Witzel-Behl’s involvement in these programs has ramped up as we get closer to the 2024 election. The best part? Her office recently sent out over 2,200 duplicate ballots.

According to emails, Witzel-Behl has been fully immersed in CTCL’s training, learning to identify and deal with various forms of misinformation, including accurate information that is “disruptive” and disinformation. One of CTCL’s star instructors is Christian Franco, who has a lot to say about how misinformation supposedly shapes policies. He’s worked closely with cross-cultural communities to champion equity and opportunity in higher education settings, because who doesn’t love a little Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) buzzword bingo while trying to figure out how to navigate the minefield of misinformation?

But Witzel-Behl’s indoctrination into the world of misinformation policing didn’t stop with a single training session. No, she was also accepted into a special “misinformation community of practice,” where election officials come together monthly to brainstorm how to combat the scourge of incorrect information that might interfere with election narratives. Emails show she’s actively participating in these sessions, with goals being drafted on how to address misinformation in 2024. Oh, and there’s even a checklist on combating election misinformation because if there’s anything bureaucracy loves, it’s a checklist.

CTCL, being the benevolent overlords they are, hasn’t limited itself to just a few trainings. They’re rolling out more resources, including strategies to tackle so-called “influence operations” — all while redefining what counts as “true but disruptive information.” And as if that weren’t enough, Witzel-Behl was also involved in CTCL’s “Alliance calls,” which took place monthly to keep all the like-minded election officials on the same page.

You might be thinking, “Didn’t Zuckerberg say he was done throwing money at elections?” Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean CTCL and their left-wing friends have stopped. They’re still busy pushing their influence, even announcing new grants targeting rural areas ahead of the 2024 election. After all, why stop when you’ve got a good thing going?

Witzel-Behl’s relationship with CTCL goes way back. In 2020, she accepted funds from them to help manage elections, and she even served on their advisory committee until mid-2021. In 2022, Madison applied to be a “Center for Election Excellence,” and by January 2023, the city had been selected. The Madison City Council introduced a resolution to accept $1.5 million in grants from CTCL before Wisconsin banned private election funding.

Witzel-Behl has remained fully onboard with the CTCL agenda. In early 2024, she confirmed her desire to become a “premium member” of the Alliance for Election Excellence, and Madison was billed $4,800 for membership dues. The emails show that CTCL has also offered to help election officials lobby for more funding, even providing templates for requests to lawmakers—nothing like a little extra help to keep the gears turning.

While Zuckerberg may not be writing checks this time around, his influence continues to shape election policies and procedures through the organizations he helped fund. And with people like Witzel-Behl on board, the CTCL playbook for election meddling is still very much in motion.