The Arizona Court of Appeals has reinstated a 2017 law that opens the door to “dark money” contributions to political races.
The judges said Tuesday that the Republican-controlled Legislature was within its rights to decide that any group the Internal Revenue Service classified as nonprofit does not have to disclose its donors, even if it uses the money to finance independent expenditures to elect or defeat candidates.
That legislative change overturned the ability of the voter-created Citizens Clean Elections Commission to determine whether the group was really a charity or only a thinly disguised political action committee. PACs have to disclose donors.
Tuesday’s unanimous ruling also allows political parties to spend unlimited dollars on behalf of their candidates without disclosure.