Staff Report
BIRMINGHAM, AL – The Alabama Democratic Conference will be able to continue to hide the true sources of their funding after a federal court’s ruling on a portion of the law banning PAC-to-PAC transfers, which passed along with a series of sweeping anti-corruption reforms immediately after Republicans gained majorities in the Alabama Legislature last November.
“I have to admit that I didn’t understand why the ADC bothered suing for the right to continue laundering money through PAC-to-PAC transfers,” stated Bill Armistead, Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party. “As the ALGOP Senior Vice-chair, George Williams, pointed out back in August, and was also covered by the media1, the ADC rarely bothers to file their legally required financial disclosure forms anyway.”
The ruling will require the ADC to keep two separate bank accounts, one of which will be allowed to accept PAC donations to be used for Get-Out-The-Vote efforts. “The ADC already struggled to file their reports on time when they were keeping up with one set up books. Do they really expect to be able to keep up with two?” Armistead asked.
“The PAC-to-PAC transfer ban simplified matters and made election finance more transparent. But this ruling makes things more complicated,” Armistead continued. “And of course, it begs the question on how these funds will truly be used. As the recent election in House District 45 revealed, the Democrats are more than happy to hand out ‘walking around money’ to questionable ‘consultants’2. This ruling is going to ensure more election shenanigans of the same kind.”
“I applaud Attorney General Strange for his vigorous defense of the bill and encourage Alabama Republican lawmakers to continue to fight for open and transparent government in Montgomery,” added Armistead.
