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1 Ian Vandewalker, Comment Re: LaBrant Request for Declaratory Ruling 1 (2021)

handle is hein.brennan/bccomlabrt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE July 14, 2021 Melissa Malerman, Director Disclosure, Filings and Compliance Division Bureau of Elections Michigan Department of State Richard H. Austin Building-1St Floor 430 W. Allegan Street Lansing, MI 48918 Via email to: Disclsoure@Michigan.gov RE: LaBrant request for declaratory ruling Dear Ms. Malerman: The Brennan Center for Justice at N.Y.U. School of Law1 respectfully submits this comment regarding Robert LaBrant's request for a declaratory ruling/interpretive statement.2 Disclosure of the sources of funding for ballot question committees is required by Michigan law, and we are aware of no provision allowing a political party to use its administrative fund to avoid such disclosure.3 Nor is there any constitutional obstacle to a state requiring disclosure of the sources of financing for ballot elections.4 For more than three decades, the Supreme Court has consistently and repeatedly affirmed the constitutionality of disclosure for electoral spending, including by an 1 The Brennan Center is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice and studies, litigates, and drafts legislative solutions regarding money in politics. The opinions expressed in this testimony are only those of the Brennan Center and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the N.Y.U. School of Law. 2 See Robert S. LaBrant, Request for Declaratory Ruling /Interpretive Statement Under MCL 169.215, June 28, 2021, available at https://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127- 1633 23669 23716-69259--,00html. 3 See Mich. Comp. Laws § 169.225; § 169.233a; § 169.241(2). 4 Cf Brief for The Brennan Center for Justice et al. as Amici Curiae Supporting Respondents, Rio Grande Fdn. v. City of Santa Fe (No. 20-2022), 2020 WL 3638443, available at https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/2020-07-02- %20Rio%2OGrande%2OAmici%2OBrief.pdf. Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law 120 Broadway, Suite 1750 New York, NY 10271

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