Free and Fair Elections USA

Free and Fair Elections USA is a Democratic Party-aligned activist organization and independent expenditure committee. 1 Free and Fair Elections USA supports various voter registration efforts 2 and has claimed that “power-hungry” politicians are trying to make voting harder in the United States. 3

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(4)
Issue Areas: Elections Policy
Website: www.freeandfairelectionsusa.com
Status:

Trade Name of the North Fund

Formation:

2022

Location: Washington, DC View on map
Tax ID: 88-2257489

Contents

    Free and Fair Elections USA is a trade name of the North Fund, which is a part of a multi-billion dollar nonprofit network created and administered by Arabella Advisors. 4 The organization has encouraged its supporters to engage with left-of-center get-out-the-vote organizations including the U.S. Vote Foundation, Vote.org, and VoteAmerica, which is supported by the New Venture Fund. 5 6 7 8

    In 2022, Free and Fair Elections USA received $1,000,000 from left-of-center advocacy organization Tides Advocacy for general support functions. 9

    History and Leadership

    Free and Fair Elections USA was launched in 2022. 10 2

    Tshombe Hubbard submitted Free and Fair Elections USA’s independent expenditures and contributions received documents to the Federal Election Commission in 2022. 11 As of December 2023, Hubbard is the chief financial officer and chief administrative officer of the left-of-center Voting Rights Lab, which was a project of the New Venture Fund. From 2019 until 2022, Hubbard worked in various roles for left-of-center women’s advocacy organization Time’s Up, including as its chief financial officer from July 2020 until September 2022. Hubbard also worked in several finance-related roles at abortion advocacy organization Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 2004 until 2019. 12

    Background

    Free and Fair Elections USA is a Democratic Party-aligned activist organization and independent expenditure committee. 1 Free and Fair Elections USA supports various voter registration efforts  2 and has claimed that “power-hungry” politicians are trying to make voting harder in the United States. 3

    Free and Fair Elections USA is a trade name of the left-of-center North Fund, which is a part of a multi-billion dollar nonprofit network created and administered by Arabella Advisors. 4 13 The organization is dedicated to what it classifies as free, fair, and secure elections in which the will of voters leads the country 14 and has claimed that politicians are threatening poll workers. 15

    Political Activities

    During the 2022 election cycle, Free and Fair Elections USA pent at least $82,175 on digital advertisements attacking the U.S. Senate campaign of  J.D. Vance (R-OH). 16 Free and Fair Elections USA also ran political advertisements in Michigan 17 and spent $67,740 on online advertising against Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels (R), who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Governor Tony Evers (D-WI). 18 19

    On its Facebook page, Free and Fair Elections USA directed its followers to engage with the U.S. Vote Foundation to identify upcoming elections 5 and left-of-center get-out-the-vote (GOTV) organization Vote.org to check their voter registration status. 6 7 8 6

    Free and Fair Elections USA has also asked its supporters to sign up for election reminders from the left-of-center GOTV organization VoteAmerica, which received at least $350,000 from the New Venture Fund in 2020. 7 8

    Funding

    Free and Fair Elections USA is funded by donations and grants. In 2022, Free and Fair Elections USA received $1,000,000 from left-of-center advocacy organization Tides Advocacy for general support functions and “defense of democracy.” 9

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $1,350,000
    • Number of Grants: 2
    • Number of Funders: 2

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $1,000,0002022 Tides AdvocacyDEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY; GENERAL SUPPORT
    $350,0002022 Sd FoundationGENERAL OPERATIONS

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $600,000
    • Number of Grants: 4
    • Number of Recipients: 4

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $300,0002022 Secure Democracy USAGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $200,0002022 New Venture FundGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $50,0002022 America VotesGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $50,0002022 Progress ArizonaGENERAL OPERATIONS

    Contact InfluenceWatch to report errors, suggest edits, or provide tips for additional profiles.

    Contact Us

    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “Free and Fair Elections USA.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C90021627/?tab=spending.
    2. “Facebook Post.” Free and Fair Elections USA Facebook Page. Posted February 11, 2021. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/FreeFairElectionsUSA/posts/pfbid02engAx6VbXuWNrgczFSRYgpyw5agV4sZJZaGezibHBLzRchC62FPDv4cyt3nCYN7kl.
    3. “LinkedIn Post.” Free and Fair Elections USA LinkedIn Page. Posted 2022. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/free-and-fair-elections-usa_michigan-protect-our-freedom-to-vote-activity-6932062858637660161-g381/?trk=public_profile_like_view.
    4. “North Fund.” Open Corporates. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_4231080.
    5. “Facebook Post.” Free and Fair Elections USA Facebook Post. Posted February 16, 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/FreeFairElectionsUSA/posts/pfbid0fusjxJyDCh4z3ay6jT1kuZSWxYUwDDqnRU8YMFch7rARiwFvNgqYcUJTemux8mdnl.
    6. “Facebook Post.” Free and Fair Elections USA Facebook Page. Posted February 13, 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/FreeFairElectionsUSA/posts/pfbid02inCeVkXogCeTvGRapZwLJpHV2Cpq7hEAYxEjMaBHZguP6bu6SAPNggq3hJNXymnJl.
    7. “Facebook Post.” Free and Fair Elections USA Facebook Page. Posted February 14, 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/FreeFairElectionsUSA/posts/pfbid0RoEhtM7hz3Ffo2VZFZdvYmaooPfbQFxX8SL6jUerziDV3Wfn9k6LWzYa6qb2Aq2Cl.
    8. “New Venture Fund.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205806345/202113169349310971/IRS990ScheduleI.
    9. “Tides Advocacy.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule I. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63ea75137aa1956b628611d0/t/655555a2d084bb1492932262/1700091299159/Tides+Advocacy+2022+Form+990+-+Public+Disclosure+Copy+-+Filed+11-14-2023.pdf.
    10. “X Biographical Information.” Free and Fair Elections USA X Profile. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://twitter.com/FreeAndFairUSA.
    11. “Report of Independent Expenditures Made and Contributions Received.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C90021627/1685352/.
    12. “Experience.” Tshombe Hubbard LinkedIn Profile. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tshombehubbard/details/experience/.
    13. “North Fund – Initial File Number N00006138995.” District of Columbia Government. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2022/05/North-Fund-Trade-Names.pdf.
    14. “Home.” Free and Fair Elections USA. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.freeandfairelectionsusa.com/.
    15. “LinkedIn Post.” Free and Fair Elections USA LinkedIn Page. Posted 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/free-and-fair-elections-usa_arizona-vote-no-on-bills-that-limit-our-activity-6916824439355576320-rXyW/?trk=public_profile_like_view.
    16. “Itemized Independent Expenditures for Free and Fair Elections USA.” Federal Election Commission. Schedule 5-E. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C90021627/1685352/f57.
    17. “LinkedIn Post.” Free and Fair Elections USA LinkedIn Post. Posted 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/free-and-fair-elections-usa_michigan-protect-our-freedom-to-vote-activity-6932062858637660161-g381/?trk=public_profile_like_view.
    18. “Hijacking Campaign 2022 – Information on Free and Fair Elections USA.” Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Posted October 13, 2022. Updated October 23, 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.wisdc.org/interest-group-spending/137-hijacking-campaign-2022/7211-hijacking-campaign-2022-information-on-free-and-fair-elections-usa.
    19. Danbeck, Jackson. “Record spending by special interest groups in Wisconsin’s 2022 midterm elections: Report.” WTMJ-TV 4 Milwaukee. Posted December 5, 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/record-spending-by-special-interest-groups-in-wisconsins-2022-midterm-elections-report.