GBI Strategies is a Democratic Party-aligned voter registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) organization. ¹ During the 2020 election cycle, GBI Strategies received payments of $4,691,623 from Democratic-aligned campaigns and committees, including $2,117,605 from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), $1,031,856 from the Democratic National Committee Services Corporation, and $450,000 from the 2020 presidential campaign of Joe Biden. ²

In 2023, GBI Strategies was reported to have been investigated by the Michigan State Police (MSP) for its alleged association with allegedly fraudulent voter registration submissions in Muskegon County, Michigan. As a part of this investigation, MSP seized evidence related to GBI Strategies at its Southfield location. ^{3 4} MSP ultimately determined that it could not find any successful fraudulent voter registration applications associated with GBI Strategies, and a Michigan State Police public information officer told Newsweek that it made no arrests from the investigation. ⁵

History and Leadership

According to documents filed with the State of Tennessee, GBI Strategies was founded in 2013. GBI Strategies’ director is Gary Bell. ⁶ Bell has a history of working in campaign management and has claimed to work on get-out-the-vote, canvassing, voter registration, and issue advocacy on more than 70 operations in 20 states. ⁷

Bell has also worked with left-of-center voter engagement and registration firm CompMo. Based on his description from this role, Bell’s experience includes supporting the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Democratic National Committee (DNC), Louisiana Democratic Party, Black PAC, For Our Future, Black Church PAC, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and independent expenditure campaigns organized by the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union. Several of his clients were also GBI Strategies’ clients. ^{8 9}

Political Activities

GBI Strategies is a Democratic Party-aligned voter registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) organization. According to the Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets database, GBI Strategies has yet to receive money from campaigns or campaigns for the 2024 election cycle as of April 2024. ¹⁰

During the 2022 election cycle, GBI Strategies received $626,872 from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and $15,000 from Black Church PAC. ¹¹

During the 2020 election cycle, GBI Strategies received payments of $4,691,623 from Democratic-aligned campaigns and committees. This total includes $2,117,605 from the DSCC, $1,031,856 from the Democratic National Committee Services Corporation, $493,100 from the Democratic Party of Iowa, $484,264 from Black PAC, and $450,000 from the 2020 presidential campaign of Joe Biden. ¹²

In 2018 election cycle, GBI Strategies received $1,571,386 from the campaign of then-Senator Doug Jones (D-AL), $657,260 from the New American Jobs Fund, $188,000 from the DSCC, and $14,517 from the National Education Association (NEA) Advocacy Fund. ¹³

Controversies

In 2023, GBI Strategies reported to have been investigated by the Michigan State Police (MSP) for alleged association with allegedly fraudulent voter registration submissions made in Muskegon County, Michigan. A Muskegon city clerk had noticed an issue with voter registration information and MSP seized evidence related to GBI Strategies at its Southfield, Michigan, location. The Republican Party of Michigan claimed that GBI Strategies was at the heart of the investigation, and alleged the investigation showed evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 general elections. ¹⁴

It was alleged that a representative of GBI Strategies was associated with approximately 8,000 to 10,000 fraudulent voter registration forms as a part of this investigation. While some fraudulent forms were mixed in with legitimate voter registrations, the MSP ultimately was unable to find any successful fraudulent voter registration applications associated with GBI Strategies. A Michigan State Police public information officer told Newsweek that it made no arrests deriving from the investigation. Newsweek reported that the matter had been referred to the FBI to investigate whether an employee had attempted to defraud the company of payment for work not performed. ¹⁵

1. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: GBI Strategies.” Open Secrets. 2022 Election Cycle. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2022&vendor=GBI+Strategies.
2. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: GBI Strategies.” Open Secrets. 2020 Election Cycle. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2020&vendor=GBI+Strategies.
3. Dunmire, Julie. “Documents detail MSP investigation into alleged Muskegon-area voter fraud.” FOX 17 West Michigan. September 1, 2023. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/lakeshore/muskegon/documents-detail-msp-investigation-into-alleged-muskegon-area-voter-fraud.
4. Norton, Tom. “Fact Check: Did Michigan Police Uncover 2020 Democratic Election Plot?” Newsweek. August 16, 2023. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-michigan-police-uncover-2020-democratic-election-plot-1820154.
5. Norton, Tom. “Fact Check: Did Michigan Police Uncover 2020 Democratic Election Plot?” Newsweek. August 16, 2023. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-michigan-police-uncover-2020-democratic-election-plot-1820154.
6. “Business Entity Detail – GBI Strategies LLC.” Tennessee Secretary of State. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://tnbear.tn.gov/Ecommerce/FilingDetail.aspx?CN=058246230126181121087145165120013097197005242067.
7. “Our Team.” CompMo Group. Accessed via Web Archive. August 9, 2023. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20230809172917/https://www.compmogroup.com/about-us/gary-bell.
8. ^[1] “Our Team.” CompMo Group. Accessed via Web Archive. August 10, 2023. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20230810004620/https://www.compmogroup.com/about-us.
9. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: GBI Strategies.” Open Secrets. 2020 Election Cycle. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2020&vendor=GBI+Strategies.
10. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: GBI Strategies.” Open Secrets. 2024 Election Cycle. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2024&vendor=GBI+Strategies.
11. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: GBI Strategies.” Open Secrets. 2022 Election Cycle. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2022&vendor=GBI+Strategies.
12. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: GBI Strategies.” Open Secrets. 2020 Election Cycle. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2020&vendor=GBI+Strategies.
13. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: GBI Strategies.” Open Secrets. 2018 Election Cycle. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2018&vendor=GBI+Strategies.
14. Dunmire, Julie. “Documents detail MSP investigation into alleged Muskegon-area voter fraud.” FOX 17 West Michigan. September 1, 2023. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/lakeshore/muskegon/documents-detail-msp-investigation-into-alleged-muskegon-area-voter-fraud.
15. Norton, Tom. “Fact Check: Did Michigan Police Uncover 2020 Democratic Election Plot?” Newsweek. August 16, 2023. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-michigan-police-uncover-2020-democratic-election-plot-1820154.