Take Back Action Fund (TBAF) is a right-leaning organization that supports left-of-center campaign finance policy, defends the Electoral College, and backs right-of-center election integrity measures such as voter ID laws. The organization has also advocated for mobile voting.

Background

Take Back Action Fund is a right-leaning organization that advocates for restoring the U.S. election system by changing campaign financing system and election procedures. ¹ Take Back Action Fund launched on May 5, 2015, three months after its charitable sister organization, Take Back Our Republic, was established. ²

John Pudner is the president of Take Back Action Fund. Pudner is the executive director of Take Back Our Republic, a 501(c)(3) education and research organization. ³ Pudner was previously a Republican campaign consultant.

Perry O. Hooper Jr. was named as a member of the board of the Take Back Action Fund in 2018. Hooper is a former Republican member of the Alabama state House of Representatives. ⁴

Advocacy

The Take Back Action Fund has supported strict enforcement of campaign finance laws. TBAF president John Pudner said, “As conservatives, we cannot continue to dismiss any attempt to change or enforce campaign finance laws as a ‘liberal’ cause.” ⁵

Take Back Action Fund calls for getting money out of politics, a position often associated with liberal organizations. However, the TBAF focuses on liberal money influence while also advocating for restrictions on campaign donations. ⁶

Take Back Action Funds supports voter identification laws and keeping clean and updated voter registration lists for accuracy. ⁷

Take Back America supports the Electoral College and opposes the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. ⁸

In the summer of 2020, Take Back Action Fund joined Voatz, a secure mobile voting platform, to try to help those unable to get to the polls to vote securely. This included the deployed military and voters with disabilities. The groups contend that advancements in technology make it possible to have an uncompromised, private vote through a mobile process in certain circumstances. ⁹

Watchdog Activity

A 2020 analysis by Take Back Action Fund found about half of all 2019 donations to ActBlue, a liberal political money fundraising group, came from people claiming to be unemployed. That was 4.7 million donors claiming they did not have an employer giving a total of $346 million. ActBlue defended the integrity of its donors. ¹⁰

Before the Take Back Action Fund ran online ads against Democrats on Facebook, it sought an advisory opinion from the Federal Election Commission clarifying disclosure requirements for these ads. Pudner said he was “dead set against the ridiculous lack of transparency in politics that invites countries like Russia to secretly run political ads.” The FEC ruled the Take Back Action Fund must include disclaimers on its proposed Facebook ads. The organization did this in part to set a precedent for similar advertising in the future. ¹¹

1. “Take Back Action Fund.” Cause IQ. September 13, 2022. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/take-back-action-fund,473467673/
2. Press Release. “Voatz and Take Back Action Fund partner to drive access to voting.” Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.prweb.com/releases/voatz_and_take_back_action_fund_partner_to_drive_access_to_voting/prweb17259134.htm
3. Patton, Elizabeth. “Take Back Action Fund elects Perry O. Hooper Jr. to its board.” Alabama Today. June 7, 2018. Accessed September 13, 2022. https://altoday.com/archives/24333-take-back-action-fund-elects-perry-o-hooper-jr-to-its-board
4. Patton, Elizabeth. “Take Back Action Fund elects Perry O. Hooper Jr. to its board.” Alabama Today. June 7, 2018. Accessed September 13, 2022. https://altoday.com/archives/24333-take-back-action-fund-elects-perry-o-hooper-jr-to-its-board
5. Goldhaber, Michael. “The US Presidency: How US election law logged off.” IBA Net. Accessed September 13, 2022.  https://www.ibanet.org/article/9D0007C4-70C0-43BD-914D-D57240F3B9F0
6. “Take Back Action Fund.” Fund for the Public Interest. Accessed September 13, 2022. https://fundforthepublicinterest.org/foundation-more.html
7. Pudner, John. “Whatever You Think About 2020 Results, Just Follow the Law. Newsmax. April 21, 2022. Accessed September 14, 2022.
8. Pudner, John. “Voters shouldn’t be fooled by push for National Popular Vote.” The Hill. August 1, 2019. Accessed September 14, 2022. https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/455850-voters-shouldnt-be-fooled-by-push-for-national-popular-vote/
9. Press Release. “Voatz and Take Back Action Fund partner to drive access to voting.” Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.prweb.com/releases/voatz_and_take_back_action_fund_partner_to_drive_access_to_voting/prweb17259134.htm
10. “Data shows that half of 2019 donations to ActBlue came from untraceable ‘unemployed’ donors.” Fox News. September 12, 2020. Accessed September 13, 2022. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-data-shows-that-half-of-2019-donations-to-actblue-came-from-untraceable-unemployed-donors
11. Valentino-DeVries, Jennifer. “I Approved This Facebook Message — But You Don’t Know That.” Pro Publica. February 13, 2018. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.propublica.org/article/i-approved-this-facebook-message-but-you-dont-know-that