Dark Money

Ways to counter the negative influence of dark money. Plus, updates from ID, CA, WI and the US.

The topic of dark money cannot adequately be covered in one summary post. But a story about the AG of the District of Columbia issuing subpoenas to Arabella Advisors caught my eye this week and it seemed a good time to start unpeeling this giant onion.

‘Dark Money’ is basically political spending where the original donor is not known. It has primarily been associated with Political Action Committees (PACs), but more and more it is also being used of non-profit organizations to raise funds for supposedly non-partisan efforts. For example, voter registration has been heavily targeted and many of these groups are under scrutiny because those voter registration efforts have been lopsided towards one party.

Arabella Advisors is a poster child of dark money. In 2020 and 2021, they raised $3.3 billion in funds that apparently went to left-wing advocacy groups, a sum that is nearly 10 times what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated to the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) to influence the 2020 election.

It will be interesting to see where the AG investigation goes, but so far, these groups have not been penalized for any unlawful behavior. What can be done about it?

1. Educate: Learn about dark money. The website opensecrets.org is an excellent resource for learning about dark money, how it works, and even doing searches on donations and expenditures.

2. Sunlight: Learn the names of the core groups that are raising the most money as they are probably having the largest impact. Share stories of what they are reportedly doing on social media and with your legislators. For Idaho, the Secretary of State maintains a public, searchable database of all campaign donations. You can search that to see not only which PACs are donating money and to whom, but it tracks individuals as well.

3. Legislation: Too often, legislation is reactive to what has already happened, but closing any loopholes still needs to be done. For example, it is now illegal in Idaho to do what Zuckerberg and CTCL did in 2020. But as the modus operandi of these groups becomes more well known, proactive legislation can be pursued to stop them before they can cause any damage.

---

Then there is one more encouraging way to negate the influence of dark money - precinct walking. There is nothing more powerful than the collective voice of the true grassroots - the individual voters. Somewhere along the way as civic apathy set in, this tool has been largely lost, but there has been a reawakening called ‘The Precinct Strategy’.

At least for the GOP, every voting precinct elects one person called the precinct committeeperson (PC). The PC is to walk their precinct, knock on doors, and talk to their neighbors. Even if you are not the PC for your precinct, you can assist your PC by being a block captain and helping them to reach every door possible to hear from your neighbors. The PC should then reflect the views of that precinct and represent it at party meetings. This all bubbles up to each level of party structure - county, district, state, and nation. Each level should reflect the views of the majority of PCs within that level.

Having been a Republican most of my life, I must confess I did not know how the party worked until just a few years ago. I know I am not alone - many people do not know what a PC is or how political parties actually work. Dan Schultz, who gets the credit for starting ‘The Precinct Strategy’ has noted that half of the PC seats around the country are empty, but The Precinct Strategy has raised awareness and gotten people involved to fill them.

So here is a quiz - do you know which precinct you are in and who your precinct committeeperson is?

---

Idaho: Student ID Challenge Dismissed - HB142 removed student IDs as an acceptable form of identification for registering to vote, triggering a lawsuit from BabeVote and the League of Women Voters. The case was dismissed last week but they are weighing the option to take it to the Idaho Supreme Court. They claim the new law makes it harder for some students to vote. Read more here.

US: FBI Creates New Threat Category for Trump Supporters - An unnamed FBI employee revealed to Newsweek that conservatives are being profiled as potential threats for violence around the 2024 elections. The report bolsters conservative allegations of a 2-tier justice system, and that the federal government has become weaponized to attack any political dissension of the current administration. Biden himself stated in a post last fall that “Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are a threat to the very soul of this country”. Read more here.

CA: Newsom Signs Law Banning Hand Counting - The new law was a response to Shasta County which opted to get rid of their Dominion voting system and replace it with hand counting. Shasta County’s Board of Supervisors vowed to challenge the law, but it is also faced with recount elections for two of its board members that approved the hand counts. This case is one to watch with respect to State vs County control over how elections are run. Read more here.

WI: Lawsuit Filed Over Absentee Witness Requirement - Democrat aligned election attorney Mark Elias has filed a lawsuit challenging the state requirement that a witness must co-sign an absentee ballot. Elias claims it violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Nine other states currently have the same requirement, and four states require a notary or copy of a state ID to accompany any absentee ballot. Read more here.

CA: Nevada County Judge Awards Attorney Fees to Election Data Challenger - In June, a judge sided with a citizen who had been denied access to election data. On Sep29, the same judge awarded $85,000 in attorney’s fees. Read more here.

US: Lindell’s Attorneys Quit - Lindell stated he was no longer able to pay his attorneys in his various lawsuits stemming from the 2020 election. Read more here.