Established Fact
Arizona’s Auditor General documented CTCL grants of approximately $6.8 million to nine of the state’s fifteen counties for the 2020 elections. The four Arizona counties carried by the Democratic presidential candidate that received CTCL funds — Maricopa ($2,995,921), Pima ($950,446), Coconino ($614,691), and Apache ($598,700) — received a combined $5.16 million, representing approximately 75.8% of all CTCL money distributed in the state, while the fifth Biden-won county (Santa Cruz) received nothing and the remaining five Trump-won counties received the balance. An analysis by the Capital Research Center found that within Arizona’s CTCL-funded counties, Biden improved his vote total over Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Arizona performance by 694,469 votes (81%), while Trump improved his own 2016 figures in those same counties by 565,677 (66%) — a differential the CRC characterized as evidence that the grants “greased the skids for voter turnout” in Democratic-leaning areas, though the Auditor General made no finding of partisan intent and CTCL reported that every eligible jurisdiction that applied received a grant.
Citations
Arizona Auditor General, Use of Private, Nongovernmental Grant Monies and Maricopa County — Performance Audit and Sunset ReviewUse of Private, Nongovernmental Grant Monies and Maricopa County — Performance Audit and Sunset Review, Report No. 22-301 (Nov. 2023), Table 7 (p. b-1): CTCL grant amounts received by Arizona counties for the 2020 elections — Maricopa ($2,995,921), Pima ($950,446), Coconino ($614,691), Apache ($598,700), Navajo ($614,420), Pinal ($806,042), Yuma ($180,765), Graham ($32,450), La Paz ($17,532); total $6,810,967.Note: the four Biden-won counties receiving CTCL funds (Maricopa, Pima, Coconino, Apache) total $5,159,758 — 75.8% of the statewide CTCL total. The Auditor General report states (p. 3): “CTCL reported that every eligible local election office that applied for the grant was awarded monies.” The report makes no finding of partisan targeting. Available at: https://www.azauditor.gov/sites/default/files/2023-11/22-301_Report.pdf | Audit Report
Capital Research Center, Hayden Ludwig, “How CTCL Helped Biden in Arizona and Nevada” (Jan. 22, 2021): “CTCL funded 4 of the 5 counties Biden won” in Arizona; “Across all CTCL-funded counties, Biden improved his turnout over Hillary Clinton’s 2016 performance by 694,469 votes, an incredible 81 percent. Trump improved his turnout in these counties over his own 2016 figures by 565,677, or 66 percent.” CRC characterized the grants as potentially decisive: “CTCL’s grants may not have won Arizona outright for Biden, but they certainly helped him clinch victory by greasing the skids for voter turnout.” Note: The 81% and 66% figures measure each candidate’s vote-total improvement over their party’s 2016 performance within the same set of CTCL-funded counties — they are not a comparison of turnout levels between Biden-won and Trump-won county geographies. Available at: https://capitalresearch.org/article/how-ctcl-helped-biden-in-arizona-and-nevada | Capital Research Center