Prop 8 Political Campaign Fined for Failure to Report Contributions

By Katherine Weber , Christian Post Reporter

August 7, 2012|4:20 pm

The political campaign committee that sponsored California's Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative restricting the state's recognition of same-sex marriage, has been fined $49,000 for failing to accurately report and file the political contributions it received.

California's Fair Political Practices Commission has proposed 18 counts of fines on the Protectmarriage.com's "Yes On 8" campaign, saying that the committee failed to file public reports on late contributions as well as contributions exceeding $5,000, in addition to failing to properly dispose of a $1 million donation, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Protectmarriage.com campaign committee has reportedly admitted to the indiscretions and agreed to pay the fines.

The "Yes On 8" campaign, which was pushed in 2008 in the months leading up to its Nov. 4 vote, acted fervently in attempting to add a new provision, Proposition 8, to the state's constitution that stated that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

The campaign, headed by political strategist Frank Schubert, released commercials and held rallies to convince voters to support traditional marriage.

In an Oct. 2008 article, the Los Angeles Times pointed out the disparity between funding between supporters of Prop 8, which included primarily Catholics, Mormons, and evangelical Christians, and opponents to the proposition.

"In a 72-hour period ending Friday, Proposition 8 opponents disclosed raising $3.6 million in donations of $1,000 or more. Supporters, primarily Mormons, Catholics and conservative Christians, raised $661,000," the Los Angeles Times wrote on Oct. 26, 2008.

Prop 8 was approved by Californian voters in the Nov. 2008 election but later struck down by a federal appeals court. The Alliance Defending Freedom organization has appealed the court's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In addition to fining Protectmarriage.com, the FPPC also fined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints $5,000 in 2010 for failing to properly follow campaign disclosure policies in the months leading up to the Prop 8 vote.