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The Center for Media and Democracy

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Look Ahead America

About

Look Ahead America (LAA) is a right-wing 501(c)(3) group founded in 2017 to serve “millions of rural and blue-collar patriotic Americans who are disaffected and disenfranchised from the nation’s corridors of power.” Based in Washington, D.C., the nonprofit lists three objectives to accomplish this mission: a voter initiative called “Register, Educate, Enfranchise”; training citizens to lobby their representatives on “America First initiatives”; and a “Voter Integrity Project,” which it describes as an effort to “investigate illegal ballots cast in 2020 and fight for reform to ensure honest elections.”

Matt Braynard, former director of data and strategy for the Trump campaign, founded and now serves as executive director of LAA, while also running a political and digital strategy firm called the Braynard Group. He has been involved with the Republican National Committee since 1996 and worked on messaging and survey research for Frank Luntz, a Republican communications strategist. LAA is largely focused on activities in Arizona, stationing six field directors in the state.

On May 15, 2020, the IRS revoked LAA’s tax-exempt status after the organization failed to file the required 990 forms (which would have disclosed salaries of leaders such as Braynard) for three years. Despite revocation of its 501(c)(3) status, LAA continued to solicit “tax-deductible” contributions into 2021.

January 6, 2021

  • Shortly after the attack on the Capitol, LAA launched a J6 Prisoner Database of information about individuals who face prosecution for their role in the insurrection. The database tracks information such as the most recent date of Department of Justice action, arrest state, and house arrest status.
  • On Feb. 24, 2022, LAA launched the J6 Question Project, which “encourages citizens to submit video recordings of themselves asking federal candidates what they are going to do about the patriots who have been politically persecuted.”
  • In the aftermath of the insurrection, LAA has organized a dozen Justice for J6 vigils, many of which were held in Florida and Arizona. Many of those in attendance dressed in military attire and brandished weapons. At the vigil held in Washington, D.C. in September 2021, four of the 400–500 people in attendance were arrested.

The Big Lie

  • Look Ahead America’s website for its Voter Integrity Reform Policy Objectives maintains that “the 2020 General Election exposed many flaws and raised doubts about the way states conducted their elections, [which] has the dangerous impact of undermining the public’s confidence in future election outcomes.”

Election Audits

  • In fall 2021, Look Ahead Arizona (LAAZ) announced a series of town hall meetings to discuss the Arizona 2020 election audit at locations across the state. “We are presenting an opportunity to meet with and hold accountable public officials,” the group proclaimed. The town hall meetings featured former Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R), the audit’s senate liaison. 

Post-2020 Election Subversion

  • Look Ahead America is pushing a number of subversive election policy objectives, including thumbprint authentication of absentee ballots, purges of voter roles, a ban on voting equipment that uses proprietary, non-public software and hardware designs, and funding for a dedicated voter fraud investigation division within individual states’ offices of attorney general.