Shining light on the dark money behind RCV
by Staff
A great article by Natalia Mittelstadt at Just The News dives into the funding behind a slew of ranked-choice voting measures on state ballots this year, based on work by one of the co-chairmen of the Stop RCV Coalition.
Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Election Project Action, previously told Just the News that “RCV is elite-choice voting,” adding that the “same cohorts of big money donors on the left are pushing this, weakening the party apparatus,” so that they will be “in position to step in and fill the gap.” He believes that “liberal mega-donors are buying a new election system” that will “cater to their interests” and help push politics further left.
There are multiple left-leaning groups funding pro-RCV campaigns.
One of those groups is Action Now, Inc., which is managed by Arnold Ventures, founded by Laura and John Arnold, a former Enron executive. Arnold Ventures is classified as a center-left philanthropy group by Influence Watch.
According to Action Now, Inc.’s 2022 IRS Form 990, the 501c(4) organization granted $1.9 million to RCV groups across the country: $600,000 to FairVote Minnesota, $100,000 to Oregon Ranked Choice Voting, $50,000 to Ranked Choice Voting for Clark County (Wash.), $200,000 to Common Cause (New York City), and $950,000 to Alaskans for Better Elections, Inc. 2022-ANI-Form-990.pdf
Action Now, Inc. also gave $3 million to a pro-RCV group in Nevada called Nevada Voters First in 2022, according to The Nevada Independent. The Institute for Political Innovation (IPI) gave $5 million to Nevada Voters First that year. IPI “is leading the effort to seed and support state-based campaigns for Final-Five Voting,” according to its website. Final-Five Voting is a form of RCV.
Of course, people are free to spend money advancing their political interests. It’s important for voters to know, however, who is really behind the RCV measures being pushed in several states this fall.