In a South Dakota Supreme Court case heard this week a lawyer for the Secretary of State argued that the name of a 2006 donor to an anti-choice organization should be made public. The anonymous contributor gave a total of $750,000 to Promising Future Inc., an anti-choice organization founded by State Representative Roger Hunt to pass an abortion ban that was ultimately defeated on the 2006 ballot. Anonymous donations over $100 violate state law.
According to the Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, Secretary of State Chris Nelson filed suit against Hunt and the anonymous contributor by arguing that because Promising Future acted as a ballot question committee by allocating funds to the ballot measure campaign that they were required to file campaign finance reports.
Assistant Attorney General Jeff Halem told justices that, “Promising Future [is] a shell corporation and meets the definition of a ballot question committee because more than two entities coordinate their efforts….It’s obvious the defendant is attempting to circumvent the state’s campaign finance reporting laws,” according to the Sioux City Journal
