Colorado Secretary of State Moves to Dox Conservative Donors

In a move intended to expose large and small donors alike, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Election Division has filed a campaign finance complaint with the Office of Administrative Courts in an attempt to force conservative issues advocacy group Unite for Colorado to disclose its donor list – which under current law they are not required to do.

According to their website, Unite for Colorado describes itself as an “issue advocacy organization that believes in a smaller, more accountable government. We will support policies that increase economic opportunity and greater government transparency. We will oppose policies that would be harmful to Colorado’s economic wellbeing, and efforts to unnecessarily grow the size and reach of government.”

As a 501c4 issues advocacy organization, United for Colorado is not required to disclose its donors, and in fact, conservative and liberal 501c4 organizations have always supported political issues and candidates (you know, issues) through advertising, lobbying, and engaging in political discourse as long as political activities do not constitute the organization’s “primary activities” (according to the IRS). Designating something as a “primary activity” is a difficult thing to do, and in the case of Unite for Colorado they reportedly spend much more on issues advocacy than they do on political spending.

Jena Griswold and her overtly politicized Colorado SOS office (who botched the 2020 election) are not alleging that Unite for Colorado has done anything wrong in its advocacy or spending (even though they would like to) – they are trying to destroy the organization by shaming its donors for being conservative. Revealing the donor list doesn’t stop the money, it only reveals a fresh list of people to be attacked by the cancel culture mob.

This attack has nothing to do with transparency and everything to do with trying to expose and shame conservative Coloradoans. They are trying to expose Colorado conservatives to the current wave of cancel culture in the hopes that donors will be shamed, fired, or cowed into not advocating for small, accountable government.

Americans of all political persuasions should be free to contribute to organizations they believe in without the fear that their own government will fight to expose their identity to the cancel mob.