Campaign Finance 2024
Introduction
Campaign finance reports can be found on the State of Rhode Island Campaign Finance Electronic Reporting & Tracking System, which is located here. For a discussion of how to interpret campaign finance disclosure data in the context of Rhode Island’s constitutional convention referendum, see here.
I’d suggest thinking of the reported contribution data as 1) proximate source reporting for contributions that 2) primarily fund paid advertising expenditures, where the direct audience for the advertising is non-members. Excluded from this data are multiple categories of information, including:
Internal “ad” expenditures. For example, the “no” coalition unions have tens of thousands of members in Rhode Island. Any expenditures for communications to members (or that its members redistribute to the general public), including newsletters, social media, yard signs, and brochures, are exempt from the campaign finance disclosure law. In contrast, if the smaller Rhode Island ACLU, another “no” coalition member, wanted to influence a similar number of people via ads, that would be a disclosable event because the communication would be with non-members. Also not included are other internal expenditures such as holding press conferences for coalition members on one’s own premises or at a public venue; conducting polls, focus groups, and research within a coalition member’s organization; and traveling around the state to speak to and mobilize allies. The consequence of these exclusions is that large organizations and organizations with many members need to disclose less campaign finance information than small organizations and individuals. It is unclear whether the internal expenditures of the national unions that provide funds, internal staff resources, and expertise to their state affiliates to oppose convention referendums are covered by Rhode Island’s campaign finance disclosure laws.
True-source contributions. For example, every year the AFL-CIO and AFT contribute unrestricted funds to the Rhode Island ACLU. But such unrestricted funds need not be reported. So is the true source of the ACLU’s contributions the ACLU or its coalition partners? As far as the law is concerned, it is the ACLU, the proximate source of the funds. The ACLU extensively litigated over related issues after the constitutional convention referendum in 2004. Similarly, when one political action committee funds another one that then funds another one, the true source of the funds is obscured.
The Rhode Island Board of Elections website was not designed to be user-friendly and the data below were laboriously compiled. If the data include any errors, please let me know via the contact form on the “Contact” menu item. –J.H. Snider
As of Oct. 30, 2024, only the “no” coalition had reported any contributions. No “yes” coalition had formed. As of Oct. 31, 2024, an individual “yes” contribution–but not a coalition–was reported.
“No” Coalition 2024
Total reported contributions as of Nov. 4, 2024: $190,150.
RI Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, $20,000, Oct. 29, 2024.
AFSCME, $5,000, out-of-state, Oct. 31, 2024.
IAFF Firepac $2,500, out-of-state, Nov. 4, 2024.
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), $5,000, out-of-state, Nov. 4, 2024.
Subtotal: $32,500
United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 328, $10,000, Oct. 23, 2024.
Pawtucket Teachers’ Alliance COPE 174, $1,000, Oct. 29, 2024.82
RISAFF PAC, $250, Oct. 28, 2024.
Subtotal: $11,250
Rhode Island Building and Construction Council, $1,000, Oct. 24, 2024.
ACLU, $2,915.70, Oct. 21, 2024. (rounded up to $3,000 for purposes of calculating totals)
Build New England, $10,000, Oct. 17, 2024.
Warwick Teachers Union, $200, Oct. 17, 2024.
ACLU, $8,000, Oct. 18, 2024.
Coventry Teachers Alliance Local 1075, $1,000, Oct. 18, 2024.
RISAFF PAC, $2,500, Oct. 18, 2024.
Cranston Teachers Alliance PAC, $1,000, Oct. 21, 2024. (I have treated this the same as their Oct. 28 contribution but may be wrong.)
Subtotal: $22,700.
Rhode Island Professional Fire Fighters, $2,500.
Rhode Island ACLU, $8,000 (as a covered transfer on Oct. 24, 2024).
[J.H. Snider note: The close to $300,000 reported contributions from the American Civil Liberties Union to its Rhode Island chapter makes it difficult or arguably impossible to assess how much of the Rhode Island chapter’s contributions to the “no” coalition should be attributed to “out-of-state” money.
Providence Central Federated Council, $1,000, contributed on Oct. 15, 2024.
IUOE Local 57, $1,000, contributed on Oct. 15, 2024.
AFT Local, $400, contributed on Oct. 15, 2024.
West Warwick Teachers’ Alliance, $1,000, contributed on Oct. 15, 2024 (filed on Oct. 28 for a Sept. 25 contribution).
Subtotal: $3,400 (J.H. Snider note: some of the disclosures on the linked to form were already disclosed elsewhere so have not been repeated here.)
Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island, $10,000. (Amended Oct. 15, 2024.)
[J.H. Snider note: In its filing, Planned Parenthood appears to include the following partial funding source for this disbursement to the “no” campaign: $8,000 of its fund appears to have been contributed by District 1199 Leadership in Elections, Advocacy & Direction Fund, which represents about 25,000 members nationwide. $4,999 was contributed by Charles C. Townsend, who has sought hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of spectrum rights from the federal government as President of Aloha Wireless and General Partner of Bluewater Wireless.]
District 1199 SEIU Political Action Committee, $10,000.
National Education Association, $15,000. (Amended on Oct. 9)
Teamsters, $10,000. (see also Sept. 27 Expenditure Report).
RI Building and Construction Trades, $1,000
Subtotal: $11,000
- IBEW, $10,000, contributed on 9/25/2024.
- Rhode Island Council 94, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), $10,000, contributed on 9/11/2024.
- ACLU Rhode Island, $20,000, contributed on 9/3/2024. (Transfer form.)
- Rhode Island Federation of Teachers & Health Professionals (RIFTHP), $5,000. (The 3rd contributor, contributed $5 on August 23, 2024.)
- National Education Association of Rhode Island (NEARI), $10,000. (The 2nd contributor, contributed the $10K on August 13, 2024; see also NEARI’s August 8 Expenditure Report.)
Subtotal: $55,000
RI AFL-CIO, $5,000, July 23, 2024. (The seed contributor.)
Subtotal: $5,000
Expenditure Categories for RI Citizens for Responsible Government
Radio ad production
Radio ad placement
Streaming ad placement
Graphic design services
Printing and mailhouse services
USPS postage
Video production
Media placement
Printing and mailing
P.O. Box purchase
Text message campaign
Campaign organization and outreach services
“No” Coalition 2014
Citizens for Responsible Government
NEA, $10,000, 11/3/2014
Woonsocket Teachers Guild, $1,000, 11/3/2014.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, $5,000, 11/3/2014.
RITHP Solidarity Fund, $5,000, 10/27/2014.
RI ACLU, $5,000, 10/27/2014.
NEA PAC for Education, $10,000, 10/20/2014.
New England Laborers Management Trust, $10,000, 10/15/2014.
RI Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, $2,500, 10/15/2014.
RI Brotherhood of Police Officers, $2,500, 10/15/2014.
Teamsters Local 251, $5,000, 10/6/2014.
RI AFL-CIO, $10,000, 10/2/2014.
RI AFL-CIO Cope, $5,000, 10/2/2014.
Cranston Teachers’ Alliance, $1,000, 10/1/2014.
West Warwick Teachers’ Alliance, $1,000, 10/1/2014.
Iron Workers Local 37, $2000, 10/1/2014.
SEIU RI State Council, $300, 8/12/2014.
RI Hospital UNAP, $2500, 8/12/2014.
UNAP, $3,000, 8/12/2014.
SEIU Local 32BJ, $2,000, 8/11/2014.
Rhode Island Association for Justice, $10,000, 8/8/2014.
District 1199 SEIU, $4,000, 5/22/2014.
United Food and Commercial Workers defense fund, $5,000, 5/22/2014.
AFSCME AFL-CIO, $10,000, 5/16/2014 (note: name misspelled ALF-CIO).
United Nurses and Allied Professionals, $10,000, 5/7/2014.
RIFTHP Solidarity Fund, $10,000, 5/1/2014.
RI ACLU, $10,000, 5/1/2014.
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, $10,000, 4/3/2014.
Total $151,800
“Yes” Coalition 2024
As of Oct. 31, 2024, the first “yes” contribution was announced, an individual contribution by Steve Frias for $5027.72. No “yes” coalition has been announced. The Frias contribution was an individual contribution, not part of a coalition.
Oct. 31, 2024
Steve Frias, $5,027.72, Oct. 31, 2024.
“Yes” Coalition 2014
Note that this campaign finance information is for 2014, not 2024. As of Oct. 30, 2024, no campaign contributions had been reported for the “yes” side.
RenewRI
Alan Hassenfield, $12,500, 10/3/2014.
Aram Garabedian, $5,000, 9/19/2014.
Timothy Murphy, $1,000, 9/14/2014.
John Hazen White, $23,000, 6/30/2014.
Total: $41,500.
Campaign Finance Reporting in Rhode Island
A report of Referendum Expenditures is required to be filed with the Board of Elections,
provided the total of money so expended exceeds $1,000 in the calendar year.
Additional details are provided in the Summary of Ballot Question Advocacy Activity Form: “The first report must be filed for the period beginning when the ballot question advocate expends a cumulative total that exceeds one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the ballot question advocacy and ending the last day of the first full month following such date, to be filed with the Board of Elections due no late than seven (7) days after the end of the month. Reports must be filed thereafter for each calendar month due no later than seven (7) days after the end of each month; provided that in lieu of filing for the last full calendar month preceding the ballot question election, a report must be filed due no later than seven (7) days before the election. A final report must be filed no later than thirty (30) days after the election.”
Here are some potentially useful links:
Campaign Finance Electronic Reporting & Tracking System (ERTS)
https://elections.ri.gov/campaign-finance
To quickly see the most recently filed reports:
https://ricampaignfinance.com/RIPublic/Homepage.aspx
2024 Reporting Schedule for Ballot Measures
REPORT REPORT | REPORTING PERIOD | DUE DATE |
1st Quarter | 01/01/24 – 03/31/24 | 04/30/24 |
2nd Quarter | 04/01/24 – 06/30/24 | 07/31/24 |
3rd Quarter | 07/01/24 – 09/30/24 | 10/31/24 |
4th Quarter | 10/01/24 – 12/31/24 | 01/31/25 |
Contribution Search:
https://www.ricampaignfinance.com/RIPublic/Contributions.aspx
Last Report by the Board of Elections to General Assembly
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2018