2 weeks Ago
Transparency is critical for citizens to have trust in the government. When the government demands “transparency” from the citizens, however, alarm bells should ring. Privacy is growing ever more important in today’s age of doxing and political harassment.
Yet the Maine Legislature is currently considering legislation that would expose Mainers to retaliation for their beliefs and donations. Jacob Posik is the director of legislative affairs at the Portland-based Maine Policy Institute. Matt Nese is the vice president of People United for Privacy Foundation, a D.
C.-based nonprofit that defends First Amendment rights. The proposal, LD 951 , is modeled off a recent Arizona law that is already being challenged in state and federal court.
Even worse, it threatens to increase political violence and stifle civic engagement in Maine. Under the bill, nonprofits that communicate with the public about legislation, the actions of elected officials or issues on the ballot may be forced to publicly expose their donors’ names and home addresses. Many organizations may choose to self-censor rather than risk putting their supporters in harm’s way.
Some donors may decide to stop giving entirely, fearing for their safety. The risks facing donors in today’s toxic political climate are real. In New Mexico, the Republican Party’s offices were recently targeted in an arson attack.
Only a few months before, the FBI foiled a politically motivated attack on offices in Florida belonging to the pro-Israel organization AIPAC. Likewise, Planned Parenthood offices have been attacked in the recent past in California and Colorado. And right now, Tesla cars, trucks and dealerships are targets for vandalism across the country.
Mainers who support nonprofits active in their communities should not be added to the target list. Every American has the right to join together with like-minded citizens in support of their beliefs without fear of harassment. To make that vision a reality, donor privacy must be protected.
LD 951 is marketed by its out-of-state backers as a measure to increase transparency in campaign finance in response to the rise of “dark money.” Yet its provisions strike at the heart of long-cherished freedoms under the First Amendment. The nonprofits it would harm are not new entities in the state.
Many have existed for generations and speak on behalf of thousands of Maine citizens. It is no surprise, then, that nonprofits across the spectrum have been vocal in opposition to LD 951. Progressive and conservative organizations, which rarely see eye to eye, agree on the importance of protecting their members’ privacy.
Our organizations, Maine Policy Institute and People United for Privacy Foundation, have been joined in opposing this scheme by an array of groups, including Maine Conservation Voters, the Maine Education Association, Philanthropy Roundtable and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. LD 951 will not increase transparency, but it will increase misinformation. Under the bill’s convoluted requirements, Mainers could be publicly named in messages from groups to which they never contributed.
That’s because nonprofits would be forced to expose not only their donors, but their donors’ donors. That’s not all. The bill also imposes a “top three funder” disclaimer mandate on affected nonprofits, forcing groups to name-and-shame their top supporters in their work.
This is an aggressively public and punitive method of tying individuals to specific messages they may not be aware of or even support. The bill’s supporters claim these measures are necessary to trace nonprofit donations back to their so-called “original source.” This ignores the reality that most people give to nonprofits simply because they support their work.
For many, the risk of being publicly named in a message from a group they never donated to may be enough to keep their pocketbook closed altogether. That would be a real shame for civic engagement in Maine. When a similar proposal was introduced in 2023, the Maine Attorney General’s Office and the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices raised constitutional concerns with the bill.
Yet LD 951 is even more expansive than its predecessor, which was voted down in the Senate. Privacy and free speech are important values to Mainers. As political harassment becomes commonplace, proposals like LD 951 threaten to effectively silence nonprofits and their members.
This misguided and reckless proposal should be left in the Arizona desert. We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way.
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