If there’s one region accountable for Democrats ‘ victory in Pennsylvania nationwide elections, it’s Philadelphia.
In his triumph over Donald Trump in the Keystone State, Joe Biden received more than 600,000 vote for him in the 2020 election. In the midterm elections of 2022, it also helped Democrats Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman win their individual gubernatorial and Senate activities.
Democrats want to slam a dislikeable Kamala Harris across the Electoral College finish line, but they may have found a way to do it because another disputed presidential contest is quickly approaching.
The mayor of Philadelphia has been using a data-gathering software company that works specifically with the Democrat Party to manage certain aspects of its online portal, despite being largely underreported. Known as NGP-VAN, this software company has provided an array of services to” Democratic and liberal activities and businesses”, such as “fundraising, adherence, area, organizing, online, and social network products”.
As detailed on its website, NGP-VAN has worked with the Democratic National Committee and was originally used by Barack Obama’s presidential plan for its “voter email, charity, charity and compliance activities in all 50 says”. The firm also expresses support for many left-wing factors, such as so-called “racial fairness” and” weather change”, and has been paid for its service by many Democrat strategies.
But those revelations are only the start of something. Election experts are concerned about the legitimacy of the city’s contract with the Democrat software company, and whether or not NGP-VAN is using such information to increase Democrat turnout in Pennsylvania. NGO-VAN’s handling and possible distribution of client user data to left-wing political campaigns and organizations raises these questions.
It appears “you have an organization like]NGP-VAN that is ] actually being paid by]government ] officials, and then they get that data and are in essence granting it to other political actors. That, to me, raises all kinds of potential legal issues”, Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow with The Heritage Foundation, told The Federalist.
Philly’s Dance with the Democrat Data Devil
Philadelphia’s relationship with NGP-VAN is not a new development. The political data firm has actually worked with the Democratic stronghold for a while.
Last year, Restoration News ‘ Hayden Ludwig unearthed” ]p ] ublic filings , reveal]ing ] that in October 2021 the city signed a , sole source contract , with NGP VAN— meaning it was awarded without competitive bidding — to ‘ collect, track, and utilize engagement data’ on Philadelphia residents”. This relationship dates even further back to 2018, according to a separate report that was later made available by the outlet.
As noted by Ludwig, the city’s Democrat-run mayor’s office has made no attempt to hide its use of NGP-VAN-powered government resources to promote leftist causes.
In October 2022, Philadelphia’s Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service— which is run by the mayor’s office — posted a tweet claiming,” Abortion is health care, and access to safe abortion services is a human right”. The post linked to a phila. A website on the internet that provides “resources” for pregnant women seeking to terminate their unborn child as well as information on Pennsylvania’s abortion laws.
Additionally, the website has a” Take action” tab that encourages readers to lobby state legislators to oppose pro-abortion legislation and volunteer with or donate to pro-abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Abortion Liberation Fund of Pennsylvania.
In other words, how to use NGP VAN software to run a successful campaign, Ludwig claims that the Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service also “offers services to teach activists how to plan for recruitment, build a contact list, and track your work along the way.” Forms included on the office’s NGP-VAN-run site and cited by Ludwig ask residents to disclose personal information, such as their full name, zip code, and “pronouns”.
Given these revelations, it was no surprise to learn that Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, a Democrat, paid NGP-VAN almost$ 6, 000 for its services during her 2022-2023 mayoral campaign, according to the city’s campaign finance records. Parker was honored when the Democratic software company announced her victory in November 2023.
Mayor Parker’s office did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment on what other city agencies are using NGP-VAN services. Given its partisan track record, it did not respond when asked whether Parker believes it appropriate for her taxpayer-funded office to use NGP-VAN.
Data Sharing
The more concerning aspect of the Philly-NGP-VAN relationship, however, is the latter’s apparent acquisition of personal information about the city’s residents.
When users click on the privacy policy listed on NGP-VAN’s website, they are re-directed to Bonterra LLC, which serves as NGP-VAN’s parent company. The firm’s privacy policy details what “personal information” it collects from individuals who provide such data when using its services. This includes an individual’s contact information ( full name, job position, address ), biological information ( age, gender, political affiliations ) and other data.
The privacy statement further states that Bonterra’s affiliates, including NGP-VAN, may give personal information to various third parties, including political campaigns and organizations. Additionally, Bonterra reserves the right to indefinitely keep this information.
Users are permitted to opt out of certain Bonterra data-sharing arrangements, according to the policy.
Recall that NGP-VAN works exclusively with Democrats, meaning this data would only be available to leftist campaigns and groups — not Republicans. In essence, this means that Democrats would only be able to access any personal information that NGP-VAN may obtain from the Philadelphia mayor’s office or other city services in the event that it decides to disclose it.
What other Philadelphia-area organizations are currently using NGP-VAN services or how the Democratic Party might be able to obtain residents ‘ data through other means?
The Federalist contacted Bonterra for comment regarding how many Philadelphia residents ‘ personal information has been shared with third parties by the business ( and NGP-VAN ) or with whom in particular.
Potential Legal Violations
So, what are the legal implications for Philadelphia’s relationship with NGP-VAN?
Von Spakovsky noted that there may be violations of the city’s contract with NGP-VAN under federal law, depending on several factors, including whether the city’s election department pays for NGP-VAN’s services before providing residents ‘ data to the Democratic firm.
This raises a serious issue about potential violations of federal campaign finance laws, according to von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission. NGP-VAN is receiving taxpayer money from a city election office.
The senior legal representative added that a data firm’s purchase of voter roll data from the state is “one thing,” which they are “perfectly permitted” to do under current law. However, it’s a different scenario if NGP-VAN is being paid by the city and granted the data and then syphoning it to political operatives, he said.
” If a corporation, for example… gives a mailing list they have developed for their commercial products to a campaign, that’s an in-kind donation. In such a situation, von Spakovsky said, you would have to determine how much of a law violation there is if corporations are prohibited from giving donations directly to candidates. ” Those are the kind of issues that are involved in something like this, where you have a data firm that is working for one side of the political aisle]and is seemingly ] getting data from]government ] officials. And in this case, they’re not even purchasing it”.
In his opening report, Ludwig also suggested that if Philadelphia voter data had been smuggled into NGP-VAN to improve Democrats ‘ electoral chances, there might have been violations of Pennsylvania law. Specifically, he cited 25 Pa. Stat. § 2705, which prevents public employees from “directly or indirectly soliciting, receiving, collecting, handling, disbursing or accounting for assessments, contributions or other money for a partisan political purpose”.
He also referenced 25 Pa. Stat. § 2607. That statute stipulates state and local governments ( and their employees ) cannot “apply for, enter into a contract for , or receive or expend gifts, donations, grants or funding from any individual, business, organization, trust, foundation, or any nongovernmental entity , for the registration of voters or the preparation, administration  , or conducting of an election , in this Commonwealth” ]emphasis added ].
The Philadelphia City Commissioners Office, which has paid and/or used NGP-VAN or any other Bonterra affiliate, did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment. Nor did Mayor Parker respond when pressed if she was concerned about potential , legal issues arising from the city’s contract with NGP-VAN.
Lawsuits on the Horizon?
Some legal entities have begun to probe the Philadelphia-NGP-VAN relationship.
A representative from the Republican National Committee ( RNC ) wrote to Parker on July 26 regarding” concerns voter data that is ] being collected for the City and that is contained in the NGPVAN-created databases known as” My Voters” and” My Campaign.”
The lawyers requested Parker disclose answers to questions about the Philadelphia’s NGP-VAN contract, such as how the city “or others” are using the” My Voters” and” My Campaign” databases, what specific information is contained in each, and what” system users” have access to them. They also asked the Democrat mayor to detail which “political parties, operatives, campaigns, or consultants have access to these databases and/or have utilized the stored data”.
The letter states that” we are very concerned about the use of publicly funded databases for political campaigns and political fundraising efforts.”
The RNC did not respond to The Federalist’s follow-up inquiry on whether Philadelphia has responded to the letter. If the group intends to sue the city for breach of contract, it did n’t respond when asked.
The Federalist staff writer Shawn Fleetwood graduated from the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClear Health, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
