How this state’s upcoming election might be 'the least transparent in recent memory'

12 January

A recent campaign finance law could make New Jersey’s upcoming gubernatorial election "the least transparent in memory," Politico reports.

The Elections Transparency Act — which Politico notes allows super PACs to keep their donors secret until shortly before the primary" — is expected to be "the biggest test yet of the financial overhaul, and supporters of a few candidates have already sought to leverage it by forming independent expenditure committees that can raise and spend unlimited amounts."

Campaign Legal Center senior leal counsel Aaron McKean told the news outlet that "voters should know who’s funding the ads they’re seeing well before the election, not just days before it or weeks after."

McKean emphasized, "The key reason that reporting like this is important is so that voters have information to make decisions when they’re evaluating their choices on the ballot, and failing to put in meaningful disclosure means voters don’t get that information. It’s not useful to a voter to find out 20 days after an election who was funding all those ads."

However, Politico notes that "it doesn’t have to be that way," as "There’s nothing stopping these groups from going above and beyond New Jersey’s lax reporting requirements and voluntarily disclosing where their money is coming from and how they’re spending it."

The state's 2025 gubernatorial election, according tot eh report, "is one of just two gubernatorial elections this year, making it a closely watched contest in Donald Trump’s first year returning to the White House."

Politico's full report is available here.

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