DELAWARE - A federal appeals court rejected a request by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation to challenge a ruling in its lawsuit over Delaware’s campaign finance disclosure rules.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied the foundation’s appeal on Aug. 31. That decision means the case will be sent back to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and the lawsuit will continue.
The Americans for Prosperity Foundation sued Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and Elections Commissioner Anthony Albence over state rules requiring certain groups that spend money on elections to disclose information about their contributors. Under Delaware law, people or organizations that spend a minimum of $500 in support of a candidate or take part in an election campaign can be subject to disclosure requirements. The rules also require disclosure of people or groups contributing more than $100 toward certain independent election spending. The foundation is challenging those requirements.
Earlier this year, a federal judge denied the foundation’s request for a preliminary injunction. The preliminary injunction would have temporarily blocked Delaware from enforcing the challenged rules while the lawsuit continued.
The judge found the foundation was unlikely to succeed in its broader case, according to the Delaware Department of Justice. The foundation then asked the Third Circuit to review that decision before the full lawsuit was finished, a request known as an interlocutory appeal.
The appeals court denied that request, meaning the lawsuit will now continue at the federal district court level. The Third Circuit’s decision did not end the underlying case or make a final ruling on whether Delaware’s campaign finance disclosure requirements are lawful.
