Four out of five Americans—across political lines—agree that transparency in political spending is essential. Voters have a right to know who’s trying to influence our elections, our laws, and ultimately, our lives.
Yet despite overwhelming public support for transparency, a growing number of states are pushing so-called “donor privacy” bills that do exactly the opposite. North Carolina’s Senate Bill 416 – approved by the General Assembly and vetoed by Gov. Josh Stein — is one of them.
Senate Bill 416 is part of a nationwide strategy—backed by the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—to make it harder for the public to track political money. ALEC is a powerful political group where corporations and conservative politicians work together to write laws—often behind closed doors. These cookie-cutter bills appear in statehouses across the country, often benefiting big business and harming everyday people.
Since at least 2018, ALEC and its network have quietly advanced “privacy” legislation that creates legal shields for dark money groups. These bills use the language of civil liberties to hide the real goal: protecting wealthy donors who want to influence elections from the shadows.
In North Carolina, this effort isn’t new. Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a similar bill, Senate Bill 636, in 2021, calling it a “solution in search of a problem.” Republican Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan said the same when he vetoed an ALEC-backed version in 2018. Now the same bad policy is back, rebranded but just as dangerous.
Senate Bill 416 would restrict public disclosure of donors not only to charitable organizations like 501(c)(3)s, but also to political nonprofits like 501(c)(4)s, labor organizations under 501(c)(5), and business leagues under 501(c)(6). These are the very groups most often involved in political advocacy and campaign-adjacent activities. Under this bill, wealthy special interests have more tools to keep their spending hidden from the public–even if they’re spending millions to sway elections.
Worse, the bill opens a major new loophole. Unlike its 2021 predecessor, Senate Bill 416 removes protections that require disclosure of donors to Legal Expense Funds—a serious red flag. Under current law, politicians must disclose who’s paying for their legal bills. But under SB 416, a candidate could set up a Legal Expense Fund as a 501(c)(4) and hide every single donor. That’s a gift to corruption and a threat to fair governance.
We’ve already seen how vital transparency can be. In the last election, Judge Jefferson Griffin attempted to throw out more than 65,000 votes in a Supreme Court race. Thanks to disclosure laws, the public learned that his legal fund received $5,000 from a sitting Court of Appeals judge. That raised real concerns about judicial bias and the need for recusal. Senate Bill 416 would’ve kept that donation secret—and kept voters in the dark.
Supporters of the bill argue it’s about protecting donor privacy and preventing harassment. But the legal system already accounts for that. The U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings in NAACP v. Alabama (1958) and Buckley v. Valeo (1976) guarantee protections for individuals at real risk of retaliation. Groups facing legitimate threats can—and do—receive exemptions. This bill goes far beyond those protections. It’s not about shielding vulnerable donors. It’s about shielding political influence.
This bill isn’t about mom-and-pop donors getting harassed. It’s about making it easier for deep-pocketed interests to anonymously fund elections, policy campaigns, and legal challenges without ever being held accountable. If lawmakers are truly concerned about protecting individuals from harassment, they should codify the legal standards already laid out in NAACP v. Alabama and Buckley v. Valeo. Instead, this bill creates a sweeping exemption that disables oversight, ties the hands of regulators, and protects the powerful.
And let’s not forget the stakes. Under Senate Bill 416, state contractors could anonymously fund the very lawmakers who award them contracts. That’s not privacy—it’s a recipe for pay-to-play politics. Voters deserve better than a system that invites bribery and blocks oversight.
This playbook isn’t new. After years of watchdogs exposing dark money networks, the backlash began. A front group with ALEC ties was formed in 2018 to push “donor privacy” laws, and they’ve since distributed toolkits to help legislators sell these bills to the public. It’s a carefully orchestrated campaign to keep political money hidden while pretending it’s about protecting everyday donors.
One night around a campfire during the pandemic, my teenage daughter asked her five-year-old sister, “Are we rich?” Without hesitation, our youngest shot back, “No—we have rules. Rich people don’t have rules.” That innocent observation cuts to the core of Senate Bill 416. Is our democracy designed to serve the wealthy—or to represent we the people?
North Carolina can and must do better. We need smart, targeted reforms that shine a light on dark money—not laws that deepen the shadows. Senate Bill 416 would take us in the wrong direction, putting voters last and secret donors first.
Let’s call this bill what it is: a shield for influence-peddlers and a setback for democracy. North Carolinians deserve a government that is accountable to the people—not one that bends to the will of hidden donors and special interests. Governor Stein was right to veto Senate Bill 416. Now, it’s up to the legislature sustain that veto. Lawmakers must stand with the overwhelming majority of voters who believe in transparency and reject efforts to hide political money in the dark. Our democracy depends on it.
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