ALEC’s Numerous Ties to the Capitol Insurrection and “Big Lie”

Since the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, numerous corporations and trade groups have condemned the violence and have taken steps to hold accountable those tied to what will forever be a stain on our democracy.

The Republican Attorneys General Association, and its affiliate the Rule of Law Defense Fund, have lost corporate and trade group backers following revelations that it was a “coalition partner” in the March to Save America and paid for robocalls to urge people to attend the rally and then march on the Capitol.

A large number of corporate PACs are also suspending, pausing, and reviewing contributions to those in Congress who voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. But what about the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) funders?

ALEC, an ostensibly nonpartisan pay-to-play operation where legislators and corporate lobbyists meet behind closed doors to adopt model legislation on a broad range of public policy issues, embraced Trump early on, and its leaders and members worked hard to promote his voter fraud lies in order to keep him office.

Shortly after Trump took office, ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson told ALEC funders and members that the Trump administration has “the potential to be an ALEC administration. It is full of the people and ideas we’ve advanced since 1973…. Now is our time. And ALEC is ready.”

ALEC even went so far as to hold its 45^th Anniversary Gala at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., where longtime ALEC ally Vice President Mike Pence delivered the keynote, and White House senior advisor Kellyanne Conway “delivered a message from President Trump praising [ALEC’s] work in leading the nation.”

Throughout Trump’s term, at least 15 White House officials attended ALEC events, and when it became apparent that Trump was not going to be reelected, ALEC worked in different capacities to come to his aid.

Complicit: ALEC Leadership

At a February 2020 meeting of the Council for National Policy (CNP), a hyper-secretive Christian Right network, Nelson told a room of donors and activists that ALEC was working with three GOP attorneys on “action items that legislators can take to question the validity of an election.”

“Obviously we all want President Trump to win and win the national vote,” said Nelson, who is also a CNP member. “But it’s very clear from all the comments and all the suggestions up front that really what it comes down to is the states and the state legislators.”

Nelson assured her audience that ALEC was working with Heritage Foundation’s master of election misinformation Hans Von Spakovsky, former FEC member Brad Smith, and now-disgraced attorney Cleta Mitchell on a strategy for “questioning the validity of an election.”

Mitchell notoriously served as Trump’s counsel on a potentially illegal call with Georgia’s Secretary of State where Trump urged officials to “find” more votes to flip the election in his favor, and backed Trump’s election fraud lies. 

In fact, Mitchell served as private chair of ALEC’s secretive “Political Process Working Group” at the same time that she went all-out to manipulate the voting rules and results in Trump’s favor.

Mitchell also sits on the Board of Governors of CNP, which has been deeply tied to the #StoptheSteal campaign that led to the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol, and chairs the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), a right-wing “public interest law firm” that fought to purge voter rolls and spread misinformation around voter fraud before, during, and after the election.

Mitchell serves on the Bradley Foundation’s board of directors, which in 2019 gave $340,000 to PILF, $225,000 to the Heritage Foundation for Von Spakovsky’s “Election Law Initiative and Legal Strategy Forums,” $50,000 to Judicial Watch for its so-called “Election Integrity Project,” and $750,000 to ALEC.

Some members of ALEC’s board of directors were also complicit. Rep. Justin Hill (R-MO), ALEC’s board secretary and an ALEC state chair, skipped his own inauguration to attend the events in Washington on Jan. 6. 

ALEC’s board treasurer, Sen. Karen Fann (R-AZ), was one of many Republicans who questioned Biden’s win in Arizona and called on Arizona’s secretary of state to investigate claims that the “election was conducted unfairly, if not fraudulently.”

ALEC board member and Pennsylvania state chair, Rep. Seth Grove (R), led an effort in the legislature to upend the election. Grove teamed up with his ALEC state co-chairs Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R) and Rep. Eric Nelson (R) to get a letter signed by 64 state representatives charging that Gov. Tom Wolf and others had “undermined” the election. The letter urged members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation “to object, and vote to sustain such objection, to the Electoral College votes received from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”

Joining ALEC state leadership on the congressional letter were ALEC-tied state Representatives Jim Cox, Tim Hennessey, Kathy Rapp, Frank Ryan, Tina Pickett, and Ryan Warner.

Similar letters were delivered the same day to Pennsylvania’s Attorney general Josh Shapiro and Inspector General Lucas Miller from 86 Pennsylvania state representatives and senators asking for further reviews and investigations into “confusion, irregularities, and a lack of statewide continuity concerning how our elections were conducted.”

In addition to the three ALEC state chairs, ALEC-tied Senators David Argall, Scott Hutchinson, Scott Martin, and Representatives Jim Cox, Sheryl Delozier, Tim Hennessey, Tina Pickett, Kathy Rapp, Frank Ryan, and Ryan Warner signed both of the letters.

ALEC board member and state chair Rep. Garry Smith (R-SC) fed the flames of misinformation around the election with an op-ed in which he cast doubt on the integrity of Nevada’s and Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballots. Smith was also spotted cheering on a right-wing activist at a Jan. 11 South Carolina rally who said the state could become a “public safety hazard” unless government officials rejected the election of Joe Biden, days after the violent Capitol riot.

From ALEC’s CEO Nelson’s comments to the actions of ALEC’s board members, it is clear that ALEC’s leadership was complicit in pushing forward Trump’s “Big Lie” that led to the insurrection at the Capitol.

Complicit: ALEC Rank and File

ALEC-tied state lawmakers and ALEC alumni also played an integral role in the voter fraud misinformation campaign that led up to the violence at the Capitol.

Thirty ALEC state politicians signed onto a January 5 letter to Pence asking him to not certify the election results, arguing that, “There are extensive and well-founded accusations of electoral administration mismanagement and deliberate and admitted violations of explicit election laws enacted by state legislatures in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.”

Pence, formerly an ALEC member, supported the voter fraud narrative as late as Jan. 2, welcoming “the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people,” and saying he shared “the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities.”

Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem and former state Rep. Anthony Kern, both tied to ALEC, were listed as speakers at the #StoptheSteal rally on the day of the insurrection. CMD was first to expose that the astroturfed #StoptheSteal effort is deeply tied to the CNP. “In a lengthy statement days after the events, Finchem repeatedly and falsely blamed antifa for the violence,” CMD reported.

Finchem and Kern are refusing to hand over emails and text messages from their Washington, D.C. trip to The Arizona Republic, stating through a lawyer that, “the threat of criminal prosecution gives rise to certain Constitutional rights that may overcome the duty to disclose otherwise public documents under Arizona’s public records law.”

ALEC Alumni Arizona U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs played a key role in planning the January 6 event according to #StoptheSteal founder Ali Alexander. 

Including Biggs, 41 ALEC alumni in Congress voted to overturn the election on January 6, even after the violent mob overtook the Capitol and many of them had to seek shelter in an undisclosed location.

There are many more ALEC ties to Trump’s Big Lie and the violent events that unfolded on January 6, 2021. CMD will continue to update the list below so that its actions will not be forgotten or lost in the news cycle.

Will ALEC’s Corporate Board Members or Funders Cut Ties?

Following the insurrection, ALEC corporate board member the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called Trump’s actions “inexcusable” and claimed it will stop funding some lawmakers associated with the violence that unfolded. Similarly, the National Association of Manufacturers issued a statement “condemning the assault on American democracy“

PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl called the events in D.C. “appalling” and said they “violate the better values of our nation.” He added in a Twitter post, “It’s time for the peaceful transition of power our Constitution requires and the mob standing in the way must be condemned.”

UPS and State Farm, also members of ALEC’s corporate board, have joined a number of other corporations to say they are freezing donations.

It remains to be seen if any of these corporations or trade associations will take ALEC to task for its role in promoting the insurrection.

ALEC Connections to Insurrection and Stolen Election Disinformation Campaign

(Note: This running list will be updated as more information comes to light. Last updated Feb. 10, 2021)

ALEC Staff/Operatives

• Lisa Nelson, ALEC’s CEO, told Council for National Policy attendees at a February 2020 meeting that, “ALEC had been working with three GOP attorneys on ‘action items that legislators can take to question the validity of an election.'” Nelson is a CNP member, and CNP has been deeply tied to the astroturfed #StoptheSteal effort to overturn the election, which led to the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol.
• Cleta Mitchell is the private sector chair of ALEC’s secretive Political Process Working Group. Mitchell served as Trump’s counsel on a call with Georgia’s secretary of state during which Trump urged officials to “find” more votes to push the election in his favor, and backed Trump’s election fraud lies. Mitchell serves on the Board of Governors of CNP, and CNP has been deeply tied to #StoptheSteal. Mitchell also chairs the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a right-wing “public interest law firm” that fights to purge voter rolls and spreads misinformation around voter fraud. Mitchell was a partner at the law firm Foley and Lardner, but was pushed out following the Washington Post’s reporting on Trump’s phone call to Georgia. 
• Jon Russell, a Culpeper, Virginia town councilman and head of ALEC’s local government offshoot, the American City Council Exchange (ACCE), wrote that, “Patriots have breached the barricades at the U.S. Capitol,” on Facebook and posted a video of insurrectionists on Jan. 6. Russell, who is facing calls to resign from the town council, is currently running for mayor.

ALEC Board of Directors

• Sen. Karen Fann (R-AZ), ALEC’s Board Treasurer, called on Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to investigate claims that the “election was conducted unfairly, if not fraudulently.”
• Rep. Seth Grove (R-PA), who serves on ALEC’s national board and as a Pennsylvania state chair, organized a letter campaign to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to its Electoral College votes and organized similar letters to the state’s attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• State chair Rep. Justin Hill (R-MO), ALEC’s Board Secretary and an ALEC state chair, skipped his own inauguration to attend the events in Washington on Jan. 6.
• Rep. Garry Smith (R-SC), who serves on ALEC’s national board and as a state chair, cheered on a right-wing activist who said South Carolina could become a “public safety hazard” unless government officials reject the election of Joe Biden at a rally in South Carolina on Jan. 11, days after the insurrection at the Capitol. Smith also wrote an op-ed, in which he casted doubt on Nevada and Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballots.

ALEC State Legislators

Arizona

• Rep. Nancy Barto signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Brenda Barton signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Shawnna Bolick signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Mark Finchem was listed as a speaker at the Jan. 6 “Wild Protest” rally that preceded the insurrection that he promoted, and was praised by Trump for his spreading of misinformation around the election. Finchem also signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results. The Trump campaign paid Finchem $6,037 during effort to overturn election result.
• Rep. John Fillmore signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Sen. David Gowan signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Travis Grantham signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Gail Griffin signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Kelly Townsend signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.

Georgia

• Rep. David Clark signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Sen. Bruce Thompson signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.

Michigan

• Rep. Julie Alexander signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. John Reilly signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Sen. Mike Shirkey said of the violent insurrection at the Capitol, “That wasn’t Trump people. That’s been a hoax from day one…It was all staged.”
• Rep. Doug Wozniak signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.

Pennsylvania

• Sen. Dave Argall signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results. Argall also signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Rep. Jim Cox signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results. Cox also signed a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to the Electoral College votes received from the state. Cox signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Rep. Sheryl Delozier signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Rep. Cris Dush signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Tim Hennessey signed a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to the Electoral College votes received from the state. Hennessey also signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Sen. Scott Hutchinson signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Sen. Scott Martin signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Rep. Daryl Metcalfe signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• ALEC state chair Rep. Eric Nelson signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results. Nelson also organized a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to the Electoral College votes received from the state, and organized similar letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Rep. Tina Pickett signed a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to the Electoral College votes received from the state. Pickett also signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• ALEC state chair Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results. Phillips-Hill also organized a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to the Electoral College votes received from the state, and organized similar letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Rep. Kathy Rapp signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results. Rapp also signed a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to the Electoral College votes received from the state. Rapp signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Rep. Francis Ryan signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results. Ryan also signed a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to the Electoral College votes received from the state. Ryan signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.
• Rep. Ryan Warner signed a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asking them to object to the Electoral College votes received from the state. Warner signed letters to the state attorney general and inspector general asking for an investigation into the election.

South Carolina

• Rep. Ashley Trantham cheered on a right-wing activist who said South Carolina could become a “public safety hazard” unless government officials reject the election of Joe Biden at a rally in South Carolina on Jan. 11, days after the insurrection at the Capitol.

Wisconsin

• Rep. Robert Brooks signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Cody Horlacher signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Sen. Andre Jacque signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Dan Knodl signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Dave Murphy signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Joe Sanfelippo signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Michael Schraa signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Rep. Jeremy Thiesfedlt signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.

ALEC Alumni

Federal Level

Executive Branch

• Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short said Pence, “welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people” regarding the 2020 presidential election and allegations of voter fraud.

U.S. Senate

• Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) voted to overturn election results.
• Sen. Marsha Blackburn (TN) publicly announced she would vote to overturn the 2020 election results, but changed course following the January 6 insurrection.

U.S. House

• Rep. Jim Banks (IN) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Cliff Bentz (OR) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Stephanie Bice (OK) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ) voted to overturn election results. Rep. Biggs played a key role in planning the Jan. 6 event, according to #StoptheSteal activist Ali Alexander.
• Rep. Tom Cole (OK) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Pat Fallon (TX) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (WI) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Sam Graves (MO) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Mark Green (TN) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Morgan Griffith (VA) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Andy Harris (MD) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Vicky Hartzler (MO) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Yvette Herrell (NM) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Jacob LaTurner (KS) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Debbie Lesko (AZ) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Frank Lucas (OK) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (NY) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Alexander Mooney (WV) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Barry Moore (AL) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Ralph Norman (SC) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Jay Obernolte (CA) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Steven Palazzo (MS) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Bill Posey (FL) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Mike Rogers (AL) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Matt Rosendale (MT) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Steve Scalise (LA) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. David Schweikert (AZ) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Adrian Smith (NE) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Jason Smith (MO) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Randy Weber (TX) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Daniel Webster (FL) voted to overturn election results.
• Rep. Joe Wilson (SC) voted to overturn election results.

State Level

Alaska

• State Rep. David Eastman, ALEC’s Alaska 2019 state chair and a former member, attended the Jan. 6 rally and appears to have marched to the Capitol. Eastman claimed before the coup attempt that “the election process that has been observed thus far by the American people has been abused to such a degree that, in my view, it can no longer be called an election.”

Arizona

• Former State Rep. Anthony Kern was at the Jan. 6 events, calling the day “D-Day” from the morning’s rally. Like the others, Kern spread baseless theories of election fraud in the weeks leading up to the insurrection. Kern also signed a letter to Pence asking him to not certify election results.
• Former State Sen. Kelli Ward sent fundraising appeals claiming the election was stolen, made up claims of “hidden” precinct voting data, and led a lawsuit alleging voter fraud that attempted to overturn the Arizona’s election results.

South Dakota 

• Governor Kristi Noem submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court related to ballot collection in Arizona and has tweeted support for Trump’s baseless claims that the election was rigged.

Evan Vorpahl of True North Research contributed research to this list.