Proposition 211, the Voters’ Right to Know Act, was passed by the voters with an overwhelming 72% yes vote.
That’s a win for Democrats over Republicans, right?
Sort of.
Under a variety of names from Stop Dark Money to Outlaw Dirty Money to Voter’s Right to Know, Arizona citizens, under the leadership of Terry Goddard, finally passed a law to facilitate exposing the source of campaign finance contributions that are filtered through PACs and 501(c) non-profits to campaigns. It addressed two main thrusts, the source of the funds and the timeliness of disclosure.
While we cheered over the thought that groups like Turning Point USA or a MAGA school district popup PAC will have 5 days (under some circumstances) to publicly disclose their funding sources, the same is true for Democratic groups. Indivisible, like Turning Point, is a 501(c)4 and is clearly impacted. Every PAC, whether issue-based or purely partisan, has new campaign finance rules to follow.
There has always been a brick wall between how Party Committees (like LDs and County Parties), Political Action Committees (PACs), and Campaigns, report. That barrier just got taller and wider. Additional disclaimers and reporting requirements, some potentially onerous, are on the horizon.
The full details of how the new rules will impact us are incomplete. Lawsuits and appeals are winding their way through the courts while the Clean Elections Commission determines how we proceed.
Read here about the defeat of the latest Republican attempt to challenge this voice of voters.
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