The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office all but declared war Thursday on a state agency that is attempting to shine a light on “dark money” contributions. And it’s willing to sue the Citizens Clean Elections Commission to stop the effort. Unless the agency backs down on a proposed rule that would require some campaign committees to reveal their donors, a lawsuit is “inevitable,” state Elections Director Eric Spencer told the five commissioners. Spencer argued that the commission doesn’t have the authority to regulate independent-expenditure committees, which have proliferated since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case.
Spencer’s boss, Secretary of State Michele Reagan, campaigned for office last year in part on a pledge to bring to light the source of money fueling independent-expenditure committees. But she has since changed her view, saying it’s impossible to require disclosures of dark money because federal law doesn’t require committees to name their individual contributors.
There was little indication the voter-approved commission will retreat.
Full Article: Legal battle looms over proposed Arizona dark-money rules.