Anti-super PAC campaign raises over $1 million for Maine referendum effort

A campaign finance reform effort in Maine has raised upwards of $1 million dollars from more than 100 donors from across the U.S., according to a major contributor report filed with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Elections Practice on Tuesday. 

On face value, the petition campaign seeks to limit contributions to independent political action committees, otherwise known as super PACs. The ultimate goal, however, is to get the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that PACs should be regulated.

The legal scholar and political activist behind the initiative, Lawrence Lessig, has been trying to advance the effort for years with his non-profit EqualCitizens.US, which is based out of Boston, Massachusetts. After attending a dinner in Maine last summer organized by LeadershipNow, Lessig saw Maine’s citizen-initiated referendum process as a path forward. 

Lessig helped set up the first “SuperPAC to end SuperPACs” a decade ago and said many of those who contributed to that effort have donated to the initiative in Maine. Most of the contributions to the Maine campaign were $100 or less, but a handful made sizable donations of hundreds of thousands of dollars, either paid in cash or with loans that Lessig has personally guaranteed. 

One of the largest donors is billionaire Steve Jurvetson, who listed a California address and is a venture capitalist and a board member of SpaceX. Jurvetson was the first to donate to the campaign, with $125,000 initially in October and $500,000 in November through a now-repaid loan. 

Millionaire Vincent “Vin” Ryan, founder and chairman of the firm Schooner Capital, who, according to the filing, is based out of Florida, was also an early contributor, donating $50,000 in October and $500,000 via a loan in November.      

While EqualCitizens.US took the lead in raising funds to gather the signatures needed for a referendum, Lessig said the group will not be directly involved in the ballot campaign. That will be the task of the Maine-based ballot question committee, Citizens to End super PACs, which is chaired by Cara McCormick, who also co-founded the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting. 

More than 80,000 Mainers have signed the petition since it began circulating during last November’s election. The signatures are expected to be delivered to Secretary of State Shenna Bellows next week. 

The proposed bill would limit annual contributions to super PACs to $5,000 from individuals, PACs and businesses. If enacted, the expectation is that its legality will be challenged almost immediately, presenting an eventual path to the U.S. Supreme Court. As for how the Supreme Court would rule, nothing is guaranteed, but Lessig believes there is a core flaw in the lower court case decision that established super PACs 13 years ago and confident the justices would agree.