Mississippi joins states limiting outside election funding

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is the latest Republican-led state to ban election offices from accepting donations from private groups for voting operations. The movement is fueled by conservatives’ suspicion of donations by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2020. Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 1365 on Friday. It becomes law July 1. It says state or local officials who conduct elections cannot solicit or accept donations from any private group for “voter education, voter outreach or voter registration programs.” Zuckerberg and his wife, Patricia Chan, donated $400 million for elections operations across the U.S. in 2020 as officials were trying to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.