A major Democrat super political action committee, the PAC for America’s Future, is investing heavily in Arizona this election year. PAC for America’s Future is not only the largest PAC in Arizona; it is a top donor to the Democratic Party.
PAC For America’s Future has focused on Arizona, one of the more contentious of the six key swing states for the election, alongside Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Nevada. According to the Arizona secretary of state’s campaign finance portal, the PAC is the second-largest in the state with over $9.5 million in income and $4.2 million in expenditures, after Arizona for Abortion Access ($12.3 million income, $9.6 million expense). However, PAC for America’s Future has the highest cash balance in the state: over $8.3 million.
These funds are from out-of-state interests, not Arizonans. AZ Free News reviewed all finance reports and found that total funds from Arizonans amounted to slightly less than $13,500 across 122 donations (some of whom were recurring donors). That’s .0014 percent of total donations since last year.
Most of the other funds come from sizable contributions by wealthy out-of-state Democrats. Jonathan Soros, heir to father George Soros’ $25 billion empire, has given $2 million to PAC for America’s Future this year and remains their single-highest donor.
Other top donors from last year to this year include:
$500,000 from Lynn Schusterman, an Oklahoma billionaire and wife of the late oil and gas founder Charles Schusterman
$1 million from Wendy and Barry Munger, Californians and children of former Berkshire Hathaway vice chair and late Charles Munger
$400,000 from Indiana philanthropist Deborah Simon, daughter of billionaire shopping mall magnate Melvin Simon
$400,000 from Steven Laufer, economist with the Federal Reserve Board
$300,000 from Debra Ann Efroymson, a New Mexico descendant of the wealthy Efroymson dynasty
$250,000 from New York property management tycoon Gideon Friedman
$245,000 from billionaire California philanthropist John Pritzker, son of Hyatt Corporation founder Jay Pritzker
$200,000 from David Karp, former CEO of major social media platform Tumblr
$100,000 from a Paul Karp (Paul Haahr), a Google software engineer out of California
$100,000 from Linda Schlein, the wife to venture capitalist Ted Schlein out of California
$170,000 from multiple members of the billionaire Pigott family out of Seattle, Washington
$75,000 from Juan Sebastian Scripps, an angel investor out of Kentucky
$75,000 from Andrew Beck, a New York-based philanthropist
$50,000 from Steven Spielberg, the acclaimed Hollywood director
$50,000 from Kate Capshaw, a Hollywood actress
$50,000 from Jacqueline Asplundh, the Asplundh Tree Expert Company scion out of Florida
$50,000 from Brian Rosenthal, the engineering director for Facebook residing in New York
$50,000 from Lorin Silverman, the New York descendant of business tycoon Marty Silverman
PAC for America’s Future’s affiliates have also brought in millions for the cause. These affiliates serve as holding entities for transferring funds to the PAC.
PAC for America’s Future formerly went by the “Future Now Fund” up until 2021. It’s a repository for funds from major Democratic dark money donors like George Soros and funder to one of the state’s leading dark money nonprofits, Progress Arizona, the outfit led in part by Governor Katie Hobbs’ former press secretary Josselyn Berry. (She rejoined after resigning from the governor’s office due to her posted gun violence threat to “transphobes” last year within hours of the Nashville elementary school shooting.)
Given its most recent name, it should come as no surprise that PAC for America’s Future is listed as “related” on tax returns to two similarly named 501c4 nonprofit entities: Future Now Action and Future Forward USA Action. The two nonprofits also operate a super PAC, Future Forward PAC, which has received nearly $19 million so far this year from Future Forward USA Action ($12 million in 2022).
This network of millions is a critical resource for the Democratic Party during election years.
Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, White House deputy chief of staff and Biden’s 2020 campaign manager, told The New York Times that the Future Forward ecosystem was “critical” in the 2020 presidential election, and would be again this year.
The Biden team directed his 2020 campaign finance director and White House deputy assistant Katie Petrelius to join the Future Forward team.
The Soros family’s Open Societies Foundation gave $15 million to Future Forward USA Action in 2022 and $5.5 million in 2021. The Arabella Advisors dark money network has also given millions to PAC for America’s Future and the two related “Future” nonprofit entities.
Although few of this mega PAC’s funds come from Arizonans, the Arizona Democratic Party, its candidates, and close-knit organizations have benefitted. In this most recent quarterly campaign finance report, as well as the last, the Arizona Democratic Party received nearly $300,000.
In the last campaign finance report, PAC for America’s Future reported spending over $140,000 on Arizona’s Democratic candidates, with all candidates receiving $10,800 boosts each. AZ List PAC also received $27,000.
For the State House, these donations went to candidates Deborah Howard, Stephanie Simacek, Oscar De Los Santos, Brandy Reese, Nicholas Gonzales, Matias Rosales, Mariana Sandoval, Karen Gresham, and Kevin Volk. For the State Senate, these donations went to Christine Marsh, Analise Ortiz, John McLean, and Stacy Seaman.
PAC for America’s Future is technically a “hybrid” committee — or “Carey” committee — meaning it’s capable of making independent expenditures as well as direct contributions to candidates.
A donor’s first $5,000 goes to a contribution account per PAC for America’s Future’s donor site. All funds beyond that $5,000 cap go into a non-federal account. That latter account is for PAC for America’s Future’s 527 committee, a tax-exempt type of committee that allows for unlimited donations to support or defeat political candidates but requires disclosure of all donors and expenses.
PAC for America’s Future’s 527 Committee then funnels the donations in excess of $5,000 — estimated to amount to tens of millions — to PAC for America’s Future’s joint initiative with Future Now Action, “The States Project” (TSP).
TSP took credit for moves undertaken to flip the Arizona legislature blue, dating back to their initial claim of victory in 2018 with four seats flipped for Democrats in the state House; then two new seats in the House and one new seat in the Senate in 2020; and then defense of won seats in 2022.
“Flipping both chambers in Arizona is possible in 2024. In the Senate 1,500 voters changing their minds would have shifted the balance of power in 2022. And in the House, we see a clear path to governing power, as less than 1,000 voters shifting would have ended rightwing control. Investing in the districts where we see the opportunities to shift power now gives us the strongest shot at achieving our goals in the state.” – TSP
Based on the influx of funds through their various PAC for America’s future tributaries, it appears that wealthy out-of-state interests have a vested interest in ensuring Arizona goes from a swing state to a firmly blue stronghold.
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After failing to comply with an August 2023 legal demand that his office properly update the alleged dirty voter rolls of 14 Arizona counties, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is now the target of a lawsuit from Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi, and former gubernatorial candidate Steve Gaynor, in their capacities as voters as well as Arizona GOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda in her official capacity.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Attorneys Jason B. Torchinsky, Dallin B. Holt, and Brennan A.R. Bowen representing Mussi sent a pre-litigation letter to Fontes on August 8, 2023. In the statutory notice they informed Fontes of their allegations that these counties are in violation of Section 8 of the National Voting Rights Act.
Arizona’s current and former Secretaries of State have failed to perform the necessary voter list maintenance. Now, 14 counties are in violation of the NVRA. Something must be done. https://t.co/EYgawkK2h0
The legal team cited Census Bureau Data showing that four counties in the state have reported having a larger total of registered voters than citizens over the age of 18. Those counties in particular were Apache County with a startling 117.4%, Santa Cruz County with 112.6%, La Paz County with 100.5%, and Navajo County with 100.1%. The outlying counties possessing much smaller populations when compared to Maricopa and Pima Counties, home to Phoenix and Tucson respectively, only serve to amplify the statistical abnormalities. In addition, the team identified nine other counties with voter registration rates in excess of 90% of voting aged adults with another in excess of 80%.
Registration rates for all 14 counties far eclipse the voter registration rate recorded nationwide in previous elections, noted in the complaint as being 69.1% determined by reviewing the Current Population Survey (“CPS”) data from the U.S. Census Bureau and comparing estimates of registered voters who are actually eligible to be registered. Arizona’s rate is noted as 69.9%
The attorneys explained, “This evidence shows that these counties are not conducting appropriate list maintenance to ensure that the voter registration roll is accurate and current, as required by federal law.”
In the text of the complaint the attorneys noted, “These rates are implausibly high,” adding “The data made public by the Secretary show that Arizona counties have actual registration rates that exceed the expected registration rates provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and evidence a high rate of likely ineligible voter names on the official lists of eligible voters.”
Applying more concrete numbers to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that “Based on even the most conservative data sources, Arizona has at least 500,000 registered voters on the voter rolls who should have otherwise been removed.” They summarized in the complaint, “In other words, at least 500,000 registered voters currently listed on the Secretary’s voter rolls for Arizona are deceased or no longer reside in Arizona.”
In a statement to AZ Free News, The Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Deputy Director of Policy Gregory Blackie said:
“Last year, the Free Enterprise Club sent a pre-litigation NVRA notice to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes highlighting artificially high voter registration rates compared to the most recent US census data. Since then, four Arizona counties continue to have more registered voters than residents of voting age population and the other eleven have rates far exceeding the national average. Ensuring only those eligible to vote are registered is the starting point for conducting elections with integrity. We hope the courts will make sure Fontes complies with the NVRA mandate that he maintain up-to-date and accurate voter registration lists by removing those who are not eligible.”
Mussi, Gaynor, and Swoboda are seeking a declaratory judgement that Fontes has violated Section 8 of the NVRA and that the court issue injunctions “requiring the Secretary to fully comply with any existing procedures that Arizona has in place to ensure ineligible voters are identified and removed from the rolls,” and “develop and implement additional reasonable and effective registration list-maintenance programs to cure their failure to comply with Section 8 of the NVRA and to ensure that ineligible registrants are not on the voter rolls.” The plaintiffs are also seeking that Fontes’ office assume the legal costs and attorneys fees as well.
AZ Free News reached out to Fontes’ office for comment and were informed by Deputy Communications Director JP Martin that “unfortunately the office doesn’t speculate on legal matters in this way.”
“Don’t California our Arizona.” It’s a saying we’ve had around here for quite some time, and for good reason. Not only is California known for having ridiculously high tax rates, but woke policies in the state have:
The list could go on and on. But it’s pretty clear. California’s policies have been a disaster, so much so that the state once ran out of U-Hauls because so many people were leaving. And yet, despite all this, Arizona lawmakers still decided to send your hard-earned dollars to woke Hollywood liberals through a movie tax credit bill last year. And while we hate to say we told you so, that decision now appears to be coming back to haunt Arizonans…
Have you ever shown up to vote and were told at the voting location that your voting information does not match the information on your driver’s license? If this has happened to you, have you wondered if your vote was counted?
We finally know why this happens! And there’s someone fighting for you!
EZAZ.org put out a Call to Action for its Grassroots to speak at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Meeting on September 27. One of the talking points included that voters are unknowingly being re-registered as a different political party or even in a different county than the county they live in. One of the commenters utilized this talking point.
Maricopa County’s legal team followed up by stating that during the MVD and Service Arizona process, when someone re-registers their vehicle in another county, sometimes the opt-out box is mischecked and changes voter registration without the voter knowing. Maricopa County Elections Director, Scott Jarrett, agreed.
👁🎥Maricopa Caught on VIDEO🎥👁@maricopacounty Board of Supervisors County lawyer & @RecordersOffice's Election Director admitted voters' registrations are being changed without the voter's knowledge‼️‼️‼️
Yes, this is the same elections department run by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. Both offices stated that the MVD and Service Arizona process is allowed under state statute. They are saying their hands are tied, and they can’t do anything about it.
This means that a voter could get mismatched information or be registered under the wrong party affiliation for something like re-registering a vehicle, registering a new vehicle, or getting a new license… And the voter wouldn’t even know until it’s too late!
So, then what would happen? If someone shows up to vote and their voting registration information is different from the information on their driver’s license, the voting location provides what is called a provisional ballot.
The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office says, “Provisional ballots are a fail-safe measure designed to ensure that all eligible voters have their ballots counted.” The county is supposed to go back and determine if voters who cast provisional ballots were legal and then count the ballots of those who are legal. But if provisional ballots are such a fail-safe measure, then consider this.
There are currently over 9,000 provisional ballots not counted in the Arizona Attorney General race. Abe Hamadeh is still fighting in the courts because his team has discovered many of these voters tend to vote in every election and some were mysteriously re-registered in another county. There are only 280 votes separating Mayes from Hamadeh.
Abe’s team has been trying for months to get access to the envelopes of provisional ballots to verify information of those who did cast a vote in such a way, but the counties have not allowed this to happen. This is ridiculous!
It’s time for the MVD and Service Arizona to change its misguided process. And it’s time for the courts to force the counties to allow Abe’s team to inspect the provisional ballot envelopes. After all, real election integrity ensures that every legal vote is counted.
Jeff Caldwell currently helps with operations at EZAZ.org. He is also a Precinct Captain, State Committeeman, and Precinct Committeeman in Legislative District 2. Jeff is a huge baseball fan who enjoys camping and exploring new, tasty restaurants! You can follow him on X here.
The Democratic Party’s go-to election lawyer that played a principal role in Hillary Clinton’s Russiagate hoax scored a victory against two Arizona laws requiring proof of citizenship to vote. Judge Susan Bolton — appointed by Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton — issued the ruling last week.
Bolton ruled in the Arizona District Court case Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes that the two laws, HB 2492 and HB 2243, asked too much of voters by requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote. Bolton said the requirement constituted an “additional burden” that “disadvantages” voters.
Elias called proof of citizenship requirements “voter suppression.”
🚨BREAKING: Federal Court BLOCKS key portions of Arizona voter suppression law requiring strict proof of citizenship to vote. Congratulations to our clients @votolatino and @MiFamiliaVota and the ELG team. Remaining parts go trial trial in November.https://t.co/nsXzORw1iY
Whether or not the judge had ruled in favor of the state laws, the secretary of state’s office has apparently been ignoring certain reporting requirements in one of the contested laws. The Arizona Daily Independent reported that the legislature received neither of the required quarterly records on canceled voter registrations due to deaths, driver’s licenses in other states, jury questionnaire answers, and inactive voting history.
Bolton determined that the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the federal voter registration requirements and policies signed into law by Clinton, preempted both state laws. The NVRA requires states to register voters for federal elections using the federal government’s form; this form doesn’t require proof of citizenship, yet individuals may still cast votes in federal elections.
After the Supreme Court told Arizona in a 2013 ruling that it couldn’t reject NVRAs based on its lack of citizenship proof, then-Secretary of State Ken Bennett split the voter registration system to require proof of citizenship in statewide and local races, while offering the NVRA as an option to vote in federal races only. Those voters who capitalize on the latter are known as “federal-only” voters.
AZ Free News reported in 2021 that there were over 11,600 federal-only voters in the 2020 election based on limited vote data from several counties, most of which came from Maricopa County. That’s compared to the 1,700 federal-only votes cast in the 2018 election. At the time of our 2021 reporting, not all counties were publicly posting their federal-only ballots cast despite state law requiring the disclosure.
“[A]fter each general election, [the county recorder] shall post on the recorder’s website the number of ballots cast by those persons who were eligible to vote a ballot containing federal offices only,” states the law.
It appears that the state’s two largest counties neglected to adhere to the federal-only ballot disclosure law for the 2022 election.
Maricopa County didn’t publish a file like they did in 2020 disclosing the number of federal-only ballots cast for the 2022 election.
Pima County displayed the number of federal-only ballots cast for 2020, but it didn’t issue an update or similar public display for last year’s election. The county recorder only disclosed the number of provisional ballots it accepted or denied based on federal-only status in its December after-action report: 51, compared to the 107 provisional federal-only ballots accepted in the 2020 election and 108 provisional federal-only ballots accepted in the 2018 election.
Most of these federal-only ballots are likely absentee. About 89 percent of all voters in Arizona cast their vote by mail-in ballot.
In last week’s ruling, Bolton opined that the NVRA only allows states to place limits on mail-in voting when it comes to first-time voters, and not under any additional circumstances, like requiring proof of citizenship.
“Had Congress intended to permit states that allow absentee voting to require in-person voting under additional circumstances — including when a registrant fails to provide DPOC — it could have said so in the NVRA,” wrote Bolton. “Not only does the statute exclude failure to provide DPOC among the reasons a state may require an individual to vote in person, but as explained below, the purpose of the NVRA supports an interference that Congress meant to limit the number of circumstances in which a state could prevent an individual from voting by mail.”
The court addressed whether the laws were conducive to enhancing the participation of eligible citizens as voters in elections for federal office. The Fifteenth Amendment expressly assigns the right to vote with U.S. citizens, with the definition of citizenship provided in the amendment immediately preceding, the Fourteenth Amendment.
Bolton also ruled that the state failed to limit its systemic purges of voter rolls from occurring within 90 days of an election. She rejected arguments from the state that this 90-day window didn’t apply to voters who were found to be noncitizens. Meaning, individuals not qualified to vote can’t be purged from voter rolls in a systematic manner if they’re discovered as ineligible within 90 days of an election; these removals may only occur on a strictly individual basis.
“While the Court agrees with Plaintiffs that the State may still conduct individualized voter removals within the 90-day window, the systematic removal program mandated by HB 2243 violates Section 8(c)(2) of the NVRA,” stated Bolton.
Bolton opted not to rule yet on several issues. Two concerned the state’s requirement of investigations and cancellations of the voter registrations of those noncitizens identified through various government databases. Another concerned the state’s requirement of an individual to disclose their citizenship and birthplace, which Bolton noted were only in violation of the Materiality Provision when also providing the state with DPOC.
“The Checkbox Requirement violates the Materiality Provision when an applicant provides satisfactory evidence of citizenship,” stated Bolton.
Ruling on those questions will be issued sometime after the November trial.
Elias was joined in the lawsuit against the laws by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last summer.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
