FEF Report: “Bipartisan” Arnold Philanthropists’ Bankroll Fight Against Voter ID and SAVE Act

New Report Finds Over $22 Million from the Arnolds Flowing to Groups Working to Kill the SAVE America Act and Block President Trump’s Election Integrity Agenda

The Fair Election Fund (FEF), an election integrity watchdog group, today released a new report revealing that billionaires Laura and John Arnold, who have spent years cultivating an image of bipartisan philanthropy, have quietly directed over $22 million to organizations actively working to defeat the SAVE America Act and block President Trump’s election integrity agenda ahead of the 2026 midterms.

This comes as 83% of Americans support requiring voters to show identification and prove their citizenship, and the Arnolds are funding the campaign against it. FEF’s report identifies instances where Arnold-funded groups have campaigned against voter identification laws or the SAVE America Act.

Among the report’s findings:

The Arnolds gave between $5 million and $9.99 million to the ACLU. In June 2026, the ACLU launched a $24.5 million lobbying campaign to block proof-of-citizenship voting requirements. The ACLU has called voter identification a “dangerous assault on democracy” and is operating an active petition and phone switchboard to pressure members of Congress into opposing voter ID laws.

The Arnolds gave more than $2.25 million to the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). BPC released a research report in March 2026 arguing many Americans lack access to ID, followed by a July 2026 policy brief for lawmakers downplaying the risks of noncitizen voting.

The Arnolds gave at least $5.7 million to the Brookings Institution, which has characterized the SAVE Act as “an attempt to restrict voting rights” that would “disenfranchise approximately 60 million rural voters.” 

The Arnolds gave more than $1.5 million to the Center for American Progress, which has published a steady stream of reports calling the SAVE America Act “extreme” and arguing the administration “seems intent on manipulating election rules.” CAP is leading petition efforts urging individuals to contact Congress and block the SAVE Act.

The Arnolds gave between $5 million and $9.99 million to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which has signed onto multiple coalition letters opposing voter identification requirements and called proof-of-citizenship requirements “voter suppression.” 

BACKGROUND:

• FEF released a report in July uncovering the Arnold Foundation secretly funneled $20M to the Democrat election machine.
• In June, FEF commended House Oversight Chairman Comer and the committee for investigating Norm Eisen’s pay-to-play scheme, calling it “deeply troubling.”
• In April, called attention to a report revealing ActBlue potentially misled Congress on foreign donation vetting, corroborating FEF’s own 2024 findings of potential cases of donor fraud within ActBlue.
• Last year, FEF launched a report series grading election administration officials in battleground states across the U.S.
• In 2024, the Fair Election Fund launched an investigation examining the jury summons responses and voter rolls in key swing state counties to identify voter fraud.
• In August of 2024, the Fair Election Fund uncovered 60,000 potential cases of donor fraud involving the Biden-Harris campaign and ActBlue and turned over the data to Republican attorneys general across the country.
• In June 2024, FEF awarded $50,000 in bounties to whistleblowers with first-hand knowledge of voter fraud or election administration issues in Michigan, Connecticut, Georgia, and North Carolina.

The Fair Election Fund is an election watchdog group that was formed to shine a light on fraud and abuse still occurring in our election system.

###