Key facts
- The Fair Elections Fund, linked to election deniers Cleta Mitchell and Heather Honey, has funded efforts to sow doubt about election integrity.
- The fund provided $300,000 to the American Principles Project Foundation, which paid for advertisements suggesting election certification was optional.
- Heather Honey, a researcher known for misleading election analyses, now works in the Department of Homeland Security.
- The Fair Elections Fund also supported groups that ran ads warning about non-citizen voting and promoted voting restriction bills.
- The Conservative Partnership Institute, a hub for Trump loyalists, provided over $6 million to the Fair Elections Fund in 2024.
A non-profit organization with ties to prominent election deniers has been channeling millions of dollars to groups that promoted misleading advertisements questioning election certification and supported voting restriction legislation, according to a review of tax documents by The Guardian.
The Foundation For Accountability Integrity & Research In Elections Fund (Fair Elections Fund), incorporated in Delaware in 2023, received significant financial backing from the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), a group described as a hub for Trump loyalists.
Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who assisted Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and Heather Honey, a researcher known for election analyses that Trump has cited, are listed as directors of the Fair Elections Fund. Honey's current role in the Department of Homeland Security has raised concerns among voting rights groups.
In 2024, the Fair Elections Fund sent $300,000 to the American Principles Project Foundation, which paid for advertisements suggesting election certification was optional. These ads, which featured the logo 'Follow the Law,' aimed to undermine confidence in election processes. The American Principles Project Foundation also sent a letter to a Nevada clerk urging them not to be a 'rubber-stamp' for certification.
Additionally, the Fair Elections Fund provided $1.875 million to the Article III Foundation, a group linked to Trump ally Mike Davis, which ran Spanish-language ads warning about the illegality of non-citizen voting. The fund also allocated $285,000 to Urban Legend Media to promote the Save Act, a voting restriction bill.
Further funding included $200,000 to the Election Research Institute, where Honey served as president, and nearly $200,000 to Verity Vote, another group Honey led, for consulting services. Since its incorporation, the Fair Elections Fund has raised over $7.7 million, with CPI contributing more than $6 million in 2024.
Watchdog groups have described these activities as part of a broader 'election takeover playbook' aimed at spreading false conspiracy theories about election fraud and undermining voting rights.