By Gabrielle Wallace | Cronkite News<\/p>\n
PHOENIX \u2014 The fate of Proposition 211, an overwhelmingly popular law passed in 2022 that aimed to identify “dark money” group donors, was placed in the hands of the Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The justices heard oral arguments from the Goldwater Institute, which is suing to have the voter-approved measure overturned, and from the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, which defended the proposition.<\/p>\n
Proposition 211<\/a>, popularly known as the \u201cVoter\u2019s Right to Know Act,\u201d passed with 72% of the vote. The\u00a0Goldwater Institute<\/a>, a public policy research organization, filed a lawsuit challenging the proposition in December 2022, asserting that it infringed on free speech and privacy rights.<\/p>\n \u201cThe unfortunate reality is that this law simply does not allow that speech to occur. It does not allow space for expression in this state,\u201d said Jon Riches, vice president for litigation and general counsel at the Goldwater Institute.<\/p>\n The law requires major statewide campaign donors to disclose where the money came from. Any entity spending at least $50,000 on campaign media has to identify its donors who gave at least $5,000. In local elections, the disclosure spending threshold is $25,000.<\/p>\n Campaign media spending refers to money spent in support or opposition of a candidate through television, digital media, print, radio or other similar advertisements.<\/p>\n The Goldwater Institute called the proposition \u201cdonor doxing\u201d \u2014 publishing private information with malicious intent. The Arizona Secretary of State\u2019s Office, the defendant in the case, disagreed with that characterization, and said the law calls for transparency.<\/p>\n The Goldwater Institute said it worries for donors whose information is made public, such as their address and employer. Other opponents of the law argued the information gives ammunition to the opposition and puts a target on the backs of donors.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re afraid of the activist organizations out there, they\u2019re afraid of politicians and others that want to exact retaliation because they simply support a position or belief that they disagree,\u201d said Scot Mussi, the president and executive director of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.<\/p>\n Former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, the driving force behind the law\u2019s passing, said the transparency is necessary for informed voting.<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s a way to allow the voters to have the chance to know who it is that\u2019s trying to persuade him one way or the other,\u201d Goddard said. \u201cAnd without that information, you just can\u2019t cast a knowledgeable vote.\u201d<\/p>\n Goddard said the proposition and the sentiment behind it are important countrywide, especially in Arizona, after a \u201cdark money\u201d\u00a0scandal in 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dark money refers to the\u00a0funds that moves<\/a>\u00a0from one donor to another entity and then finally to a campaign. The entity that actually donates the money to campaigns takes the original donor out of the equation.<\/p>\n