[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6123532,"mediaKeyId","2689482-398eeb813fe96ee2e885e6dbcf8d5b98","parentId",2689482,"title","Researcher tells committee nonprofit voter-registration network funneled large sums to partisan consultants, raised concerns about foreign funding and IRS rules","audioSeconds",1250,"startMs",2168000,"endMs",3418000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2689482-398eeb813fe96ee2e885e6dbcf8d5b98&start=2168&end=3418","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2689482-398eeb813fe96ee2e885e6dbcf8d5b98/thumbnail_2168000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6123532/Michigan/Researcher-tells-committee-nonprofit-voter-registration-network-funneled-large-sums-to-partisan-consultants-raised-concerns-about-foreign-funding-and-IRS-rules","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6123532-d52dafefa5a8431b82fc4a575d27ab5a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770621504&Signature=nKZHRfvW6W-HYwLildIS63RWw1UiuYH5hIL9HaNrH6l0cr54TakI0NXvKL-usWtbykEbCACDcGD0ucQM4sUKwwE9-rVOCUvs9qpnop4OIKUA~15T11s8LC8Z1B~WtXBUwaTANd9tULStoi7EiMtOsSjpcurbhB~7JGwqS2m7tkbYcj97LW53QUS~xexr66WO7v2HNb5kwQLJK84GkQY4oUhpjpoiJn0Asswz1gGdANKhFyyrArjEtwcvGqc0W~4g71a0yCkzuMGn~c0w3Nj40Mywdd~6TBJrqRWUxnhE7-gcG0A2f0vG1qZ5sNEOIOTni03kLrtkTN9c8ZcJaldE5w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Michigan Legislature","date","2025-03-18T00:00:00Z","article","Parker Thayer, a researcher with the Capital Research Center, told a Michigan House committee that the nonprofit voter-registration industry is large and in many cases financially tied to partisan consulting firms. Thayer described organizational networks, funding flows and examples his research flagged as inconsistent with 501(c)(3) restrictions on partisan activity.

Thayer said national estimates of the \"voter-registration ecosystem\" range from roughly $760 million to about $1 billion in annual revenue. He said the Voter Registration Project (VRP) reported on its IRS Form 990 paying GBI Strategies more than $2.5 million in 2020 for \"voter registration consulting,\" and he argued that the VRP and its public-facing Everybody Votes campaign were created with partisan aims despite presenting as nonpartisan charities.

Thayer detailed additional examples: that the Everybody Votes network reported roughly $47 million in 2023; that the Everybody Votes campaign claims to have registered about 7,000,000 voters over its lifetime; and that the Voter Participation Center (VPC) has used demographic \"include\" and \"exclude\" filters in social-media ads, which the witness argued targeted likely Democratic audiences while excluding others. He cited other contested payments and fines noted in public records and reporting: a $12 million grant from the Center for Election Innovation and Research to the Michigan Center for Election Law and Administration in 2020 (the witness said most of that money went to Democratic consulting firms, with about $9.7 million to Waterfront Strategies and about $2 million to Alper Strategies); the VPC's reported payments of $17.8 million to Michigan Control and $40 million to the Pivot Group; and a $300,000 fine against the New Georgia Project for partisan activity.

Thayer described historical context (the Tax Reform Act of 1969 tightened charitable-sector electioneering rules) and warned of a foreign-interference vector he said exists because 501(c)(3) groups can accept foreign funding while PACs cannot. \"If a foreign government wanted to interfere,\" he said, \"they could write a large check to a nonprofit that promises to do nonpartisan registration in targeted areas.\" He recommended closing perceived loopholes, increasing transparency of grantees and examining payments from nonprofits to for-profit consulting firms.

Committee members asked questions. Representative Song pressed Thayer on alternatives to nonprofits conducting registration work; Thayer suggested that PACs, political parties or private citizens could run registration drives without 501(c)(3) tax subsidies. Representative Fox asked about the scale of registration counts and whether Thayer could verify headline numbers; Thayer replied he had not independently verified every registration-count claim but said the fundraising and payment flows to partisan vendors were documented in tax filings and other records.

Thayer offered to provide additional documentation and to answer written questions for the record.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Election Integrity - 3/18/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Parker Thayer of the Capital Research Center testified that a nationwide nonprofit voter-registration ecosystem channels large dollars to partisan consulting firms and said groups including Everybody Votes, the Voter Participation Center and the Voter Registration Project have paid millions to Democratic consulting firms.","taxTitle","2025 House Legislature MI, Michigan","taxId",77683,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6123537,"Witness tells House committee Michigan—QVF shows registration anomalies, urges transaction logs and transparency",1556,0,1556000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2689482-398eeb813fe96ee2e885e6dbcf8d5b98&start=0&end=1556","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2689482-398eeb813fe96ee2e885e6dbcf8d5b98/thumbnail_0.jpg","/articles/6123537/Michigan/Witness-tells-House-committee-MichiganQVF-shows-registration-anomalies-urges-transaction-logs-and-transparency","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6123537-5616e568cca75e59a73210fd2aefab30/orig.mp4?Expires=1770621504&Signature=do8QsCrCDpuKEKKGZnR5HO6onTVFd4f4fbuB4V0TvK2nx8A-C725VTPQZ7L6mdfsZ9LdLbL8RtCz1IDpLbO1u-bcF2im97997tyj2E2qDdNU47hnTgRyPMEkNJAHQBXNGUNaj4-exNKErtKJytRUWuEpH50G5Fo~8lxkcmx0CFbjEEVIr6lbhpX-aRbREpfDjqRW30XiJX38~qjA6ub4ARjFnUEIqNV4oVNXbrMhqZwq2DTVsiAJiuiu3TPpu~B2SIOw2kdhYnvIL~XUAyezncwaE2W2uHcRjqD7V-eQD1QZhCoFjFXxnMsi57EVxpE6o7jGy7PqwXJojcOITiZtAQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a Michigan House committee hearing, a testifier identified in the record as Mr. Kayala told committee members that the state\u0000Qualified Voter File (QVF) and county registration records show irregularities including large unanticipated registration increases in Muskegon County, duplicate absentee ballots, and third-party write access to the QVF.

Mr. Kayala said the Muskegon County clerk reported 148,000 voters on one snapshot while internal analysis showed 17,000 registrations added in 2020 and that outside canvassers from GBI Strategies were active in September and October 2020. He said the state\u0000QVF appears to have subsequent quarters with missing or changed counts after a quarter when the QVF was inaccessible, and that the Secretary of State has not released enough information about the status of roughly 12,000 registrations that he described as suspicious.

The testimony emphasized several specific data concerns: that a single registration record had been associated with 29 different addresses and received multiple absentee ballots, that about 8,000 registrations in one election cycle received at least one extra ballot at a different address, and that across the dataset there are roughly 2.5 million registrations flagged with one or more data problems. \"I don't think that's real,\" Mr. Kayala said of the scale of some registration increases in Muskegon. He called for access to QVF transaction logs (LDF files) so officials can see which user accounts made which changes.

Committee members asked for clarification. Representative Colazar asked whether the witness accepted the result of the 2020 election; the witness replied, \"I accept the results of it,\" and said his concern is that audits and reviews did not examine the specific data issues he identified. Representative Song questioned whether the witness's remarks implied 2024 election outcomes were incorrect; the chair redirected members to keep questions to the presentation.

The presenter also raised technical and security concerns, citing a 2012 HAVA rule and EAC certification expectations, and saying Michigan's systems are not FISMA-compliant and that user access and logging are not sufficiently traceable. He recommended the state provide the QVF transaction logs, electronic poll book data (the SD card lists sent to local clerks), and documentation of absentee ballots that were sent, rejected, or spoiled so counties can reconcile ballots against the registration file.

The testimony described local clerks as underfunded and reliant on the Secretary of State for the QVF, and said some third-party organizations (ERIC, Rock the Vote and others) have read/write access that local clerks may not fully monitor. The witness said he had reported concerns to county investigators and the Michigan State Police and that some matters were referred to the FBI.

The committee did not take formal action during the hearing. Members thanked the witness and moved to the next presenter.","A presenter cited large registration surges, duplicate ballots and third-party access to Michigan\u0000Qualified Voter File (QVF) during testimony to a House committee, and called for transaction logs, user audit files and improved HAVA-compliant controls.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Researcher tells committee nonprofit voter-registration network funneled large sums to partisan consultants, raised concerns about foreign funding and IRS rules

Witness tells House committee Michigan—QVF shows registration anomalies, urges transaction logs and transparency