The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was part of a coalition of other faiths and organizations which worked together to pass Proposition 8, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, with over 52 percent of the popular vote in California.
Claims that the Church filed only one report of its contributions before January 2009, or did not report all its contributions to the Protect Marriage Coalition, are erroneous. The Church filed all necessary reports over the course of the campaign in compliance with California state law.
Here are the facts:
- The Church filed seven contribution reports throughout the campaign. Earlier donations were filed for specific time periods prior to this last reporting period, as required by law.
- Reports were required to be filed in different ways: by mail, fax or electronically.
- All filings went to the California Secretary of State, the Department of Elections for the City and County of San Francisco, and the Registrar-Recorder for Los Angeles. The electronic filings were sent directly to the Secretary of State but copies were mailed to all three locations.
- The Church has no control over what filings are posted on the California Secretary of State’s Web site. Currently, not all the Church’s filings are posted.
- The Church’s donations were all in-kind and included travel expenses, compensated staff time and audiovisual production services.
- The value of the Church’s in-kind (nonmonetary) contribution is less than one half of one percent of the total funds (approximately $40 million) raised for the “Yes on 8” campaign.
The Church filed the following Proposition 8 nonmonetary contribution reports and amounts to the California Secretary of State’s office and other California officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles as required by California state law.
|
Date |
Amount |
Report Form |
How Report Was Filed |
Additional Information |
|
30 July 2008 |
$19,831.40 (in-kind) |
461 |
Filed by mail |
(This report covers the time period from 1 January 2008 to 30 June 2008.)
|
|
25 October 2008 |
$2,078.97 (in-kind) |
497 |
Filed by fax |
|
|
30 October 2008 |
$333.00 (in-kind) |
497 |
Filed by fax |
|
|
1 November 2008 |
(See additional information) |
497 |
Filed by fax |
(Amendment to 30 October filing; did not represent any additional contribution)
|
|
1 November 2008 |
$2,531.20 (in-kind) |
497 |
Filed by fax |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15 January 2009 |
$30,354.85 (in-kind) |
497 |
Filed by fax |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub Total: |
$55,129.42 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30 January 2009 |
$134,774.16 (in-kind) Plus the $55,129.42 sub total |
461 |
Filed electronically |
(This report covers the time period from 1 July 2008 to 31 December 2008.) |
|
Grand Total: |
$189,903.58 (in-kind) |
|
|
|
The Form 461 report is required to be filed within a month following each semi-annual period. The Form 497 report is required to report contributions made within the 16-day immediately preceding the election. The total amount included on the 461 report filed on 30 January 2009 shows all contributions from January – December 2008.