FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
September 7, 2021
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
New Report: MI GOP Used Party Fund to Oppose Previous Petition Drives
A review of campaign finance records shows the MI GOP has a history of using its administrative fund to impact ballot initiatives
MICHIGAN – A new report compiled by Progress Michigan shows that the Michigan Republican Party has a history of throwing their financial weight around in the ballot initiative process and obscuring their contributions by funneling money through their administrative fund.
Last week, the Michigan Department of State determined in a preliminary review that the Michigan GOP cannot use its administrative fund to back a recently announced petition drive to make major changes to voting in Michigan. Campaign finance records show that the Michigan Republican Party has contributed more than $4 million in undisclosed contributions to fight two separate ballot initiatives in the last decade. These previous abuses of the administrative account reinforce the need for the Department of State to finalize its ruling and close this campaign finance disclosure loophole.
“They know their anti-voting bills won’t pass, so the Michigan Republican Party is making a last ditch attempt to take voting rights away from Michiganders,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “The public has a right to know who is spending money on elections that will determine their rights as citizens. This damning evidence of past multi-million dollar misuses of this administrative fund makes it clear: the Michigan Department of State must finalize its ruling so that Michigan voters have full transparency when it comes to who’s funding these attacks on our voting rights.”
The full report is available here. Highlights include:
- $4 million against Ballot Proposal 2 in 2012, which would have made collective bargaining a constitutional right
- $130,000 against Ballot Proposal 2 in 2018, which established the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and put an end to partisan gerrymandering in Michigan
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