New Mexico Political Donor Disclosure Law is Constitutional (1)

A New Mexico law requiring disclosure of those who sponsor some political messaging squares with the US Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The state demonstrated a “substantial relation” between its campaign disclosure law and interest of the government and the public to know who the large donors are behind those advertisements, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit said. The panel affirmed, 2-1, a district court’s grant of summary judgment to the state.

New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act is also narrowly tailored such that it only captures “larger expenditures that are express advocacy or made ...