New Jersey’s campaign finance watchdog is flagging problems with the state’s new Election Transparency Act, the law intended to inform voters about who’s putting up campaign cash.
One loophole lets independent special interest groups avoid reporting money spent at the most critical point in the campaign calendar — the last couple of weeks before Election Day, says Joe Donohue, acting executive director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
“It’s almost like temporary dark money, like you can hide it from the voters ‘til after the election,” Donohue said. “What matters is the pre-election disclosure … We want a more complete picture of what’s going on — before the election.”
In a letter to state lawmakers, Donohue recommended the loophole on last-minute campaign cash reports by independent groups be closed.
Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University agreed. He points to a political action committee called Jersey Freedom bankrolled by Democrats, which bought ads backing spoiler candidates in two South Jersey races last November, hoping to draw votes away from Republicans.
“…the lawyers for this PAC made it clear that they were just using the loophole that was available to them — which is what ELEC is now trying to close,” Rasmussen said. “It was well-timed chicanery and we need to make it so that it can’t be well timed.”
Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Atlantic), allegedly one of the targets of Jersey Freedom, said the loophole “is undermining our election integrity, and shouldn’t have a place in our society … And so we agree with ELEC on these recommended changes.”
ELEC wants that campaign cash reported within 48 hours in the final days before voters cast ballots.
In its letter to lawmakers, the agency also asked lawmakers to change a two-year legal limit on its investigations of campaign shenanigans. ELEC wants four years — more time to build a strong legal case. The letter also asks lawmakers to resolve a conflict between ELEC’s mission to publicize names and addresses of campaign contributors and Daniel’s Law, which protects the privacy of many officials in law enforcement and the judicial system.
