Major Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue is facing serious turmoil with at least seven senior officials resigning last month and one lawyer implying that he “faced internal retaliation,” according to the New York Times.
The nonprofit, which has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to all levels of Democratic campaigns over the years, is now facing internal havoc. Given ActBlue’s major influence in processing election donations, the group’s current instability could also greatly affect the Democrat party.
Two unions representing ActBlue’s employees sent a letter to the platform’s board of directors, according to the NYT. The letter cited by the outlet described the flurry of resignations since Feb. 21 as an “alarming pattern” that is “eroding our confidence in the stability of the organization.” The newspaper also stated that the reason for this exodus is unclear.
The letter noted that ActBlue’s customer service and partnerships directors left, both of which worked at the nonprofit for over ten years. Several other senior officials, including the highest-ranking legal officer at ActBlue, left a week after these initial veteran employees bowed out, according to the NYT. The assistant research director, an HR official, the chief revenue officer and an engineer resigned shortly after.
Departures of legal experts in particular was cited as a major concern. “Those of us who work with our legal team in our day-to-day do not have clear direction on how to proceed with our work in their absence,” the unions wrote to the ActBlue board in the letter obtained by NYT.
“Like many organizations, as we undergo some transition heading into this new election cycle, we are focused on ensuring we have a strong team in place,” Megan Hughes, an ActBlue spokeswoman, told the NYT. “We greatly appreciate the contributions of our incredible team members and remain deeply committed to the success of our organization and our mission to enable grass-roots supporters to make their voices heard.”
Zain Ahmad, formerly the last remaining lawyer in the nonprofit’s general counsel’s office, wrote to the NYT that “we have Anti-Retaliation and Whistleblower Policies for a reason.” The paper noted that Ahmad wrote in a Slack message on Feb. 26 that he’d been cut off from his email and other work platform and that he is now on leave from ActBlue.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter to the nonprofit in August 2024, pointing to hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to ActBlue coming from donors in Virginia “in volumes that are facially implausible and appear suspicious,” according to the letter.
GOP lawmakers then called to investigate the organization over “potential criminal activity” back in September, Republican Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil calling on five states to probe the platform’s donations.
Steil, the House Administration Committee, sent five letters to the Attorneys General of Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Florida and Virginia requesting they follow up on a committee investigation alleging ActBlue illegally used people’s identities to fund Democrat campaigns. The committee expanded its initial probe to include 19 AGs in October.
This investigation into ActBlue came after whistleblowers reported inconsistencies within donor records, according to DCNF reporting.
“Now, my primary mission is rest,” Alyssa Twomey, ActBlue’s vice president for customer service, announced on LinkedIn last week. “After 14+ years of living and breathing all things ActBlue, it’s time for a reset. I’m taking an intentional pause before setting course for my next adventure.”
“Thank you for all that you did to make ActBlue the critical infrastructure under our movement,” one commenter wrote in response to Twomey. “I’ve said many times that ActBlue is the single finest customer service organization on the planet.”
ActBlue did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment in time for publication.
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