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Person

Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Former Wisconsin Lead for National Vote at Home Institute
Political Party:

Democratic Party
Residence:

Brooklyn, New York

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Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein is a Democratic Party-aligned consultant and operative who was the Wisconsin lead for the left-of-center National Vote at Home Institute (NVAHI) in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the 2020 election. 1 In his role with NVAHI, Spitzer-Rubenstein made recommendations to staff “on the logistics, set up, and operations” of the election 2 and was hired by the city of Green Bay to assist with the 2020 election. 3

Spitzer-Rubenstein allegedly had a laptop computer and cell phone inside the central counting station despite officials being unable to confirm whether or not he was hired as clerk staff. 4 E-mails released following the 2020 election showed that Spitzer-Rubenstein asked if his organization could assist in “curing” absentee ballots in Green Bay, 5 asked officials about Green Bay’s process of assigning inspectors to central count stations and polling stations, inquired about moving bins throughout the course of the day at precincts, and was cited in a document that said the Green Bay Central Count Location Center’s grand ballroom should not be unlocked until Spitzer-Rubenstein arrived with security. 6

Previously, Spitzer-Rubenstein operated an advisory firm whose clients included former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), former Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), and a campaign which helped elect former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D). 7 He also was a field organizer for Obama for America (OFA) between 2007 and 2008. 8

Career

Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein is a senior associate in the Private Equity Value Creation Group at Strategy&, part of PricewaterhouseCoopers, advising clients in technology, industrials, and healthcare on mergers and acquisitions and other topics. 9

During the 2020 election cycle, Spitzer-Rubenstein was the Wisconsin lead (called the Leadership Now Fellow) of the left-of-center National Vote at Home institute, which aims to expand the use of vote-by-mail practices and is a partner with left-progressive and left-of-center organizations including Democracy Fund, Nonprofit VOTE, and Rock the Vote. 10

Prior to the 2020 election, Spitzer-Rubenstein wrote an article in 2016 outlining how he thought former Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) could defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. 11 In 2008, he was  a field organizer for Obama for America (OFA). 12 He also operated the Spitzer-Rubenstein Strategies advisory firm to support small-to-midsize organizations and businesses with left-progressive missions. His clients have included national advocacy campaigns such as the American Jewish Congress, former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), former Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), and a campaign which helped elect former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D). 13

2020 Election

Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein was the Wisconsin state lead for the left-of-center National Vote at Home Institute (NVAHI) and was hired by the city of Green Bay to assist with the 2020 election in Wisconsin. 14 In his role, he made recommendations to staff “on the logistics, set up, and operations” of the election, 15 and also allegedly had a laptop computer and cell phone inside the central counting station, despite officials being unable to confirm whether or not he was hired as clerk staff. 16

Republicans accused Spitzer-Rubenstein of having four keys to the election counting facility, 17 a claim the city of Green Bay denied. 18 Documents reported on by Wisconsin Public Radio showed that he was granted access to the room where absentee ballots were to be counted in Green Bay, and the city attorney told WPR that he was the person who initially secured the room but did not handle ballots. 19

E-mails released following the 2020 election showed that Spitzer-Rubenstein asked if his organization could assist in “curing absentee ballots” in Green Bay based on their work in Milwaukee. 20 He also asked about Green Bay’s process of assigning inspectors to central count stations and polling stations, asked about moving bins throughout the course of the day at precincts, inquired about the number of absentee ballots in Green Bay, and was cited in a document that said the Green Bay Central Count Location Center’s grand ballroom should not be unlocked until Spitzer-Rubenstein arrived with security. 21 Spitzer-Rubenstein suggested that “curing ballots might be something we could take off your plate” to an election official who declined his request. 22

Political Contributions

Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein has made Federal Election Commission (FEC)-reportable campaign contributions to several Democratic Party-affiliated candidates and committees. These include President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign;   the campaigns of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND),  Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), David Buchwald (D-NY), Rep. Lauren Underwood (D), and Rep. Alan Grayson (D-NY); and the left-of-center pass-through ActBlue. 23

References

  1. “Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mspitzerrubenstein/.
  2. Swenson, Ali. “Posts push empty claims of election fraud, illegal activity in Wisconsin.” AP News. March 9, 2022. Accessed April 20,2022. https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-019444889870.
  3.  Bauer, Scott. Wisconsin Republicans as mayor to quit over election report.” Associated Press. March 9,2022 accessed April 20, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-green-bay-media-elections-mark-zuckerberg-6468c4587a87fc7aff66fcf1ee1b8f79.
  4. Hart, Megan. “Elections Commission Saw No Formal Complaints, Evidence Against Green Bay Elections Consultant.” March 31, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.wpr.org/elections-commission-saw-no-formal-complaints-evidence-against-green-bay-elections-consultant.
  5. “E-mail Text.” Empower Wisconsin. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://empowerwisconsin.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Green-Bay-email-SR-curing-.pdf.
  6. Kittle, M.D. “Special Investigation: Infiltrating the Election.” Wisconsin Spotlight. March 21, 2021. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://wisconsinspotlight.com/special-investigation-infiltrating-the-election/.
  7. “Who We Are.” Spitzer-Rubenstein Strategies. Accessed via Web Archive. April 21, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20200808234535/https://www.michaelspitzer-rubenstein.com/
  8.  “Experience.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mspitzerrubenstein/details/experience/.
  9. “Experience.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mspitzerrubenstein/details/experience/.
  10. “Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mspitzerrubenstein/.
  11. Spitzer-Rubenstein, Michael. “Here’s How Hillary Clinton Can Beat Donald Trump.” The Observer. March 22, 2016. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://observer.com/2016/03/heres-how-hillary-clinton-can-beat-donald-trump/.
  12. “Experience.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mspitzerrubenstein/details/experience/.
  13. “Who We Are.” Spitzer-Rubenstein Strategies. Accessed via Web Archive. April 21, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20200808234535/https://www.michaelspitzer-rubenstein.com/
  14. Bauer, Scott. Wisconsin Republicans as mayor to quit over election report.” Associated Press. March 9,2022 accessed April 20, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-green-bay-media-elections-mark-zuckerberg-6468c4587a87fc7aff66fcf1ee1b8f79.
  15. Swenson, Ali. “Posts push empty claims of election fraud, illegal activity in Wisconsin.” AP News. March 9, 2022. Accessed April 20,2022. https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-019444889870.
  16.  Hart, Megan. “Elections Commission Saw No Formal Complaints, Evidence Against Green Bay Elections Consultant.” March 31, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.wpr.org/elections-commission-saw-no-formal-complaints-evidence-against-green-bay-elections-consultant.
  17. “MacIverInstitute.” YouTube Video. Uploaded April 1, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOqpsLjBeOM.
  18. Swenson, Ali. “Posts Push Empty Claims of Election Fraud, Illegal Activity in Wisconsin.” Associated Press, March 10, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-019444889870.
  19. Johnson, Shawn. “Republicans Renew Attack on Election Grants Funded by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.” Wisconsin Public Radio. March 10, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.wpr.org/republicans-renew-attack-election-grants-funded-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg.
  20. “E-mail Text.” Empower Wisconsin. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://empowerwisconsin.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Green-Bay-email-SR-curing-.pdf.
  21. Kittle, M.D. “Special Investigation: Infiltrating the Election.” Wisconsin Spotlight. March 21, 2021. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://wisconsinspotlight.com/special-investigation-infiltrating-the-election/.
  22. Editorial Board. “Zuckerbucks Shouldn’t’ Pay for Elections.” Wall Street Journal. January 3, 2022. https://www.wsj.com/articles/zuckerbucks-shouldnt-pay-for-elections-mark-zuckerberg-center-for-technology-and-civic-life-trump-biden-2020-11640912907.
  23. “Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=spitzer-rubenstein.
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