In 1974, an initiative passed in Idaho known as ‘The Sunshine Law’. It created Chapter 66 of Title 67 in Idaho Statutes. The purpose was to provide transparency in the funding of elections and campaigns.
It also created the ‘Sunshine’ database which you can access here. It allows anyone to search and find what money is flowing to which groups.
Proposition 1 Funding
There are some ‘usual suspects’ involved with funding election related legislation like Proposition 1. The largest is Arabella Advisors who spent several billion dollars in the 2020 and 2021 election cycles. A number of entities spawn from this group. One researcher has developed the following diagram attempting to show all of the entities involved here in Idaho:
We have researched some of the key players identified on the diagram that are active with Prop 1 and the out of state funding they have received (updated 9/23/24):
Idahoans for Open Primaries - this group is the one listed as the contact on the initiative. About 44% of their funding currently is from out of state.
Unite America PAC - Colorado - $385k
Hull Family - California - $100k
Veterans for Idaho Voters - this group was formed earlier this year and has been spending money on a PR firm. Currently, 93% of their funding comes from out of state.
Unite America PAC - Colorado - $100k
Defend and Protect Idaho - this group has not been visible in the Prop 1 fight to date, however, they have received money from entities that are supporting Prop 1. Over 85% of their funding this year has come from out of state.
Article IV - Virginia - $170k
Unite America PAC - Colorado - $125k
Reclaim Idaho - this group was the driver for the Medicaid initiative that passed in 2018. They were also instrumental in collecting the signatures for Prop 1. That appears to be their role as they are not being funded significantly by out of state money and their largest donor is a mere $8400.
The Funding Model of Other States
The money to date is significant for Idaho, but it is not anywhere near what has been spent in other states for similar legislation. Consider:
Nevada Question 3: Proponents outspent opponents over 10-1 ($22m to $2m). The amendment passed 53-47 but in Nevada, a Constitutional amendment has to pass twice so this November, the stakes are very high.
Alaska Ballot Measure 2: Proponents outspent opponents over 10-1 ($6.8m to $580k). This measure passed in 2020 (50.55 to 49.45) and implemented a top 4 primary and ranked choice voting.
Montana CI 126/127: Proponents have reportedly spent $4.2 million on these initiatives that will bring a top 4 primary and some form of runoff if a candidate does not get over 50%. They will be voted on in November.
Based on the size of the electorates of these states, this averages to roughly $10 per voter.
Will $6 Million Be Spent in Idaho for Prop 1?
If Idaho followed the average of the three examples above, and given our over 1 million registered voters, this would extrapolate to over $10 million being spent on Prop 1. Even if the more conservative numbers for just Montana were used, that would mean $6 million would be spent in Idaho. This would be an unheard of level of spending but it gives you an idea of how much money is flowing into other states.
Additional Resources
Ballotpedia - This site is a treasure trove of all kinds of election related information and it was cited several times in this article. The only draw back we have seen is that some of their funding and donor data is typically a bit dated.
InfluenceWatch - Often has background on funding groups in addition to data, though the background comes from a certain point of view some might find biased.
Open Secrets - Among other things, you can look up the largest donors for a given PAC on this site. Marc Merrill of Riot Games (CA), David Peeler of Berkshire Partners (MA), Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Falcons (GA) and Kathryn Murdoch of Quadrivium (NY) have given nearly $6 million to Unite America PAC since April.
FEC - The federal government site is very similar to Open Secrets.
ProPublica - Non-profits must file 990 forms with the IRS and sites such as this allow you to view that information.
Phenomenal work! Thank you for digging deep into the finances behind this BLUE MOVE.
Perhaps if other states' voters had known all this, they would have defeated Rank Choice Voting and Open Primaries roundly. Idaho MUST defeat Prop 1. We need to take a stand against this horrible takeover of our elections.
Alaska found RCV and open primaries to be absolutely wrong for their state. Now Alaska is trying to repeal RCV: https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Repeal_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_Initiative_(2024)
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