Zuckerberg, Soros, and Steyer Spend Millions on Out-of-State Ballot Initiatives
There would appear to be no shortage of issues competing for Mark Zuckerberg’s attention. Security breaches. Russian disinformation campaigns. Politicians’ demands for more regulation. But the 34-year-old Facebook founder and CEO is also interested in a more local version of politics: He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have ponied up $1 million through their philanthropic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to support a statewide ballot measure that would soften penalties for drug possession. The constitutional amendment would also put savings from prison budgets into treatment for drug users.
The measure wouldn’t affect Zuckerberg’s palace in Palo Alto, California, his 700-acre estate on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, or another home he owns in San Francisco’s hip Dolores Heights. This effort, dubbed Issue 1, is on the ballot in Ohio.
Ana Zamora, the criminal-justice manager at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, said the charity is “pleased to support Ohioans in directing taxpayer dollars to rehabilitation, drug treatment, and education programs that are proven to improve public safety.”
Not all Ohioans are happy about the California billionaires’ involvement. Louis Tobin, the executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, opposes the measure, arguing that fewer people will enter treatment without the threat of jail time.
“We think setting criminal-justice policy by constitutional amendment is a terrible idea, and I think what makes it even worse is that it’s not being proposed by Ohioans. It’s being driven by money from out of state,” Tobin said. “We’re going to have to live with the unintended consequences of this.”
[Read: Even if you hate Zuckerberg, you’ll love him later.]
Zuckerberg’s investment in a ballot measure has given $5 million for issues on the ballot this fall around the country. The California environmentalist has spent $10 million.
