After the Dana Long incident, I warned Republicans against triumphalism, indicating to them that they better have clean hands when it comes to this election. While this is not necessarily directly analogous, indeed I would say this is worse, the Democratic Party has filed a complaint with the Elections Commissioner over multiple campaign finance violations by state Republican organizations. Here is the full release from the Dems….
For Immediate Release: October 31, 2014
Delaware Democratic Party Files Multiple Violations with the Elections Commissioner
NEW CASTLE — The Delaware Democratic Party on Thursday filed multiple complaints with the Elections Commissioner for alleged campaign finance violations, including a second complaint against the House Republican Campaign Committee.
The Delaware Democratic Party filed a complaint against Common Sense Delaware PAC, a political action committee that sent at least two mailings this week. The PAC was created less than two weeks ago and is funded solely by Delaware GOP National Committeewoman Ellen Barrosse. The PAC filed an 8-day campaign finance report but failed to meet the disclosure requirement for third-party advertisers and also has not notified the Elections Commissioner about the expenditure.
“This has gone beyond a simple, honest mistake,” Chairman John Daniello said. “We have Republican Party officials and an entire caucus of elected officials avoiding public scrutiny by failing to follow the law. Democrats have been trying to cast more sunlight into our elections by increasing transparency in our campaign finance laws. Republicans say they want to join in this cause, but they’ve shown they’re not serious about that.”
Another complaint was filed against Reform Delaware Now PAC, which recently sent a mailing supporting 41st District Republican candidate Rich Collins, who is challenging Democratic Rep. John Atkins. Similar to Common Sense Delaware PAC, Reform Delaware Now’s mailing has not notified the Elections Commissioner of the expenditure.
“The General Assembly passed this disclosure law to make the public more aware of exactly who is trying to influence their vote with these late-in-the-game ads,” said Democratic Party Chairman Daniello. “Increasing transparency in our elections is not a partisan issue. Voters deserve to know who is spending thousands of dollars urging them to support or oppose a particular candidate. Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans have chosen to disregard this law.”