In a Grand Canyon State close close by.
Outlaw Dirty Money has returned, under a new campaign name, Voters Right to Know, to strike back against the Dark Money Phantom menace that has attacked, warred, and preyed on Arizona political interests for decades.
The campaign filed its ballot initiative with the Arizona Secretary of States’ office on Star Wars Day (May 4, 2021.)
The drive to require disclosure of anonymous political disclosures over $5,000.00 is again spearheaded by former Arizona Attorney General and Phoenix Mayor Terry Goddard.
In a statement released at the filing of the ballot initiative, Mr. Goddard said:
“Arizona voters should have the right to know who is spending money to influence our elections. For too long people we don’t know have been spending money to influence our elections and pass laws we don’t like. This initiative will put a stop to that. People have a right to advocate for the candidates and the issues they care about, but the voters must also have the right to know who is influencing our elections. Survey after survey and election after election has shown that voters agree with us.”
The statement also relayed:
“Voters in the City of Tempe and City of Phoenix have both passed similar disclosure measures at the city level with over 85% support at the ballot box. A statewide survey conducted by HighGround showed over 92% of voters would support this measure to ban dark money spending in Arizona elections. The initiative receives high levels of support across all age, partisan, and regional demographics.
A similar anti-dark money ballot measure was on track to qualify for the 2020 election, but the coronavirus forced the campaign to suspend operations. The campaign found it nearly impossible to maintain early social distancing recommendations while circulating petitions, so the decision to suspend operations was made out of an abundance of caution to keep volunteers safe and protect the general public. This 2020 effort had already collected over 280,000 signatures by early March 2020.
The Voter’s Right to Know initiative is a refined version of the previous “Outlaw Dirty Money” campaign. The committee filed the measure as a legislative initiative which will require fewer signatures than the constitutional amendment Outlaw Dirty Money pursued in 2020. A legislative initiative requires 118,000 less signatures to qualify for the ballot. This will increase the likelihood of this measure appearing on the 2022 ballot
The committee nicknamed this effort “Stop Dark Money,” a name that has attracted strong support. Nearly two thousand volunteers circulated petitions in the past and many have expressed interest in the new measure. Non-traditional campaign donors are stepping up to pledge the funds necessary to get this measure on the ballot.
“Removing dark money attack ads from the political process is an investment in Arizona’s future,” stated David Tedesco, local entrepreneur, and campaign co-chair. “I believe improving the political discourse will encourage better candidates to run for office and we will see the better policy as a result. I am proud to give financial resources to help Stop Dark Money get on the ballot and let voters decide the fate of dark money in Arizona.”
Chuck Coughlin, President of HighGround, Inc an Arizona Public Affairs firm and a long-time supporter of similar reform initiatives said, “It is time that Arizona voters be granted the right to know who is financing their elections. I am proud to be a supporter of this initiative. Count me in as a contributor and a supporter. We are going to finally get this done for Arizona.”
The Voter’s Right to Know committee has until July 8, 2022, to file necessary petition signatures to be placed on the November 2022 ballot. More information about the initiative can be found at StopDarkMoney.com. Volunteers can request a petition by calling (602) 633-5146 or contacting info@stopdarkmoney.com.”
The Voters Right to Know Campaign explained their goals further by writing:
“Voters Right to Know – “Stop Dark Money” – establishes that:
Arizona voters have a right to know who is spending to influence their elections
Organizations spending more than $50,000 in state races or $25,000 in local races for campaign media must report the original source of their funding.
Organizations meeting this threshold must disclose all original contributors who gave more than $5,000 in an election cycle.
Original source is defined as the person or company that earned the money, thereby stopping the existing practice of creating a maze of organizations to hide the original source.
The Citizens Clean Election Commission, a popular and effective regulatory body, is empowered to write and enforce the regulations to implement the Voter’s Right to Know Act and to enforce its provisions.
Voters who suspect a violation of the disclosure rules will be able to file a complaint directly
with the Clean Elections Commission.
Local governments can pass more stringent requirements than those set forth in the Voter’s Right to Know Act.”
The practice of phantom and shadowy campaign donations to candidates that perverts the cause of democracy and serving the public is scarier than any Star Wars movie.
It is time to attack these menacing dark money forces and return the political campaign system to what it was after Watergate and before Citizens 2000.
May the Voter’s Right to Know be with you.