Campaign Legal Center (CLC) published a new report, Reforming Campaign Finance in Arizona: A Roadmap to Greater Transparency and Accountability in Arizona’s Elections on Dec. 9, 2021, which details Arizona’s current campaign finance laws and recommends policy solutions to fight corruption and ensure voters know who is spending big money to influence their votes.
As Arizona’s electorate continues to shift politically and demographically, its elections have become highly competitive.
At the same time, unregulated and untraceable big money from wealthy special interests has poured into recent campaigns and ballot measures across the state, facilitated by legal loopholes that fail to provide electoral transparency or accountability for Arizona voters.
CLC’s report identifies the most significant legal gaps and shortcomings affecting seven key areas of campaign finance law in Arizona: (1) disclosure requirements; (2) digital political advertising; (3) coordination standards; (4) corporate and labor campaign activities; (5) foreign election interference; (6) personal use of campaign funds; and (7) administration and enforcement.
The report also recommends commonsense reforms in these seven areas that would revamp and strengthen Arizona’s laws in accordance with national best practices.
Our recommendations include requiring original source disclosure for big independent spenders in state elections, updating political ad disclaimer requirements for the digital era and augmenting the administrative and enforcement powers of Arizona election officials.
Importantly, the policy reforms outlined in CLC’s report would make state and local elections in Arizona more accessible, transparent and accountable and advance every Arizonan’s constitutional right to meaningful and robust participation in their state’s democracy.
CLC prepared the report at the request of the Arizona Secretary of State. We value the opportunity to work with elected officials to strengthen state and local election laws to achieve a representative, responsive and accountable government at all levels.