Board members of Too Extreme for Idaho, the group opposing Proposition 1, are suing to halt ads supporting the measure, despite elections officials saying they followed all state campaign finance laws.
Former Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna, Christian Welp, a lobbyist for the Catholic Diocese of Boise, Idaho Family Policy Center President Blaine Conzatti and Victor Miller filed their suit Tuesday in Canyon County.
Idahoans United for Women and Families, which supports restoring abortion rights through Proposition 1, gave the Idaho Democratic Party $620,500 earlier this month.
The state party then bought $371,246 worth of TV ads at a discounted rate through the Democratic nominee for governor, Terri Pickens. Both organizations and Pickens are named in the lawsuit.
Individual candidates receive discounted ad rates compared to other political groups.
On Friday, Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane’s office said it found Idahoans United, the state Democratic Party and Terri Pickens violated no campaign finance laws with the tactic.
Each transaction is publicly available to see in the state’s campaign finance database.
Luna, Welp, Conzatti and Miller disagreed with McGrane’s finding.
“With early voting begun and only eight days left before election day, immediate injunctive relief is imperative to preserve what is left of the integrity of the election and ensure a level playing field,” the men wrote in their lawsuit.
A spokesperson for McGrane’s office also said no one had filed a formal complaint about the ads, though the lawsuit said Miller submitted one on Oct. 22.
The attached exhibit included the text of the request, but there were no timestamps or screenshots of the original letter included.
The case hinges on three pieces of state law.
One forbids political contributions and expenditures through a third-party to hide the identity of the original source.
The second requires all political advertising to reveal the person responsible for it. And the third outlines how independent expenditures must be reported.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, Welp wrote letters to each television station in the state on Oct. 22 telling them to pull the ad until the campaign is charged the typical rate.
“Allowing one side of a ballot measure debate to buy discounted time intended for candidates, while the other side pays the issue rate, creates an uneven playing field on a question Idaho voters will decide in less than two weeks,” he wrote.
Jessica Robinson, an attorney for the Idaho Democratic Party, sent a letter the following day telling station managers to ignore Welp’s “angry demands.”
“Too Extreme may be angry about the Ad, but they are wrong on the law,” Robinson wrote.
Avery Roberts, a spokesperson for the Idaho Democratic Party, said in a statement that the complaint is “entirely frivolous” and the ad buy was “fully above board.”
Idahoans United for Women and Families didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
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