Anti-civil rights organizations go all-in on election denial

Groups mostly known for opposing abortion and trans rights are partners in the election denial movement

Written by John Knefel

Published

Several right-wing organizations known mostly for opposing abortion, immigration, and trans rights are also involved in supporting and funding election denial groups, a sign of the issue’s centrality to the MAGA movement.

Following former President Donald Trump’s loss in 2020 and subsequent attempts to remain in power, a complicated and sprawling web of organizations emerged to sow doubt about future elections and spread debunked and baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud. Stringing these overlapping efforts together is the Only Citizens Vote Coalition, an umbrella organization connecting state and national election denial efforts with the broader right-wing policy ecosystem. These groups also significantly overlap with Project 2025, an effort organized by The Heritage Foundation to provide the next Republican presidential administration with staffing and policy recommendations. 

Even as early as March 2021, mere months after Trump’s multifaceted effort to reverse the 2020 election, socially conservative groups began pouring money into election denial initiatives. That trend has only accelerated in the intervening years, with a host of anti-civil rights groups — often euphemistically characterized as engaged in the “culture wars” — having expanded their operations to include so-called election integrity.

These groups include the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, the anti-trans American Principles Project, a fund run by Hobby Lobby founder David Green, and high-profile right-wing charities National Christian Charitable Foundation and Christian Community Foundation, among others. 

One of the primary myths that the election denial movement has spread this cycle concerns noncitizen voting, which experts agree is exceedingly rare. This manufactured scandal synthesizes two key pillars of the MAGA movement — demonizing immigrants and claiming that elections are rigged against right-wing candidates. The partners listed in the Only Citizens Vote Coalition include anti-immigrant groups the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Immigration Accountability Project, illustrating how election denial groups have incorporated nativism into their movement. Both FAIR and IAP have strong links to the Tanton network, named after John Tanton, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center refers to as the “the racist architect of the modern anti-immigrant movement.”

Here are some of the anti-civil rights organizations also taking part in the election denial movement.

  • Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is among the top anti-abortion organizations in the nation and is on the advisory board of Project 2025. In February 2021, SBA and the American Principles Project launched the Election Transparency Initiative. Senior strategist for both groups Frank Cannon told The New York Times the goal was to make limiting voting access the “center of gravity in the party.”      
  • American Principles Project is one of the country’s leading anti-trans organizations, and has also long opposed abortion rights. In addition to co-sponsoring the Election Transparency Initiative, APP has received large donations from Restoration of America and its associated Restoration Action, creators of election denial organization Voter Reference Foundation.     
  • The Federation for American Immigration Reform is one of the three main branches of the nativist Tanton network, and has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. FAIR is a partner in the Only Citizens Vote Coalition.
  • The Immigration Accountability Project was founded in 2023 by Rosemary Jenks and Chris Chmielenski, both of whom previously worked in senior roles at NumbersUSA — another branch of the anti-immigrant Tanton network — for over ten years. In May, The Heritage Foundation, the lead organizer of Project 2025, awarded IAP a $100,000 “innovation” grant. IAP is a partner in the Only Citizens Vote Coalition and was reportedly a key voice in drafting model legislation to require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in all “public elections.”  
  • Family Research Council is a longtime anti-LGBTQ organization that’s been designated as a hate group by the SPLC. It is a partner in the Only Citizens Vote Coalition. 
  • The American Family Association is a longrunning anti-LGBTQ organization that has been designated as a hate group by the SPLC. It is a partner in the Only Citizens Vote Coalition.

Several large right-wing donor organizations that are historically known for pushing social conservative issues have begun funding election denial groups in recent years.

  • The Servant Foundation, also known as The Signatry, is funded in part by David Green, the right-wing founder of Hobby Lobby. Between 2018 and 2020, Servant donated over $50 million to anti-LGBTQ organization Alliance Defending Freedom, which the SPLC has designated as a hate group. Green and Hobby Lobby famously sued to challenge the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act, ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court. According to voting rights website Issue One, Servant was the tenth largest donor to the Only Citizens Vote Coalition, “giving $8.1 million to 10 unique groups since April 2020.”    
  • The National Christian Charitable Foundation, a major conservative fund and one of the country’s largest charities, led the campaign to kill the Equality Act, which would have made it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ people in most settings, including housing, employment, and public accommodations. Also known as the National Christian Foundation, the fund helped deliver $56 million in anonymous donations to SPLC-designated anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim hate groups from 2015-2017. According to a recent analysis from Issue One, NCF ranked as the sixth largest donor to the Only Citizens Vote Coalition, “giving $15 million to 15 unique groups since January 2020.”  
  • The Christian Community Foundation (aka Waterstone), another donor-advised fund, helped sponsor state abortion bans and has shoveled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the coffers of the anti-LGBTQ Alliance Defending Freedom in recent years. According to Issue One, it was the 12th largest donor to the Only Citizens Vote Coalition, “giving $6.2 million to eight unique groups since April 2020.”