Prof. McGeveran Testifies Before MN Campaign Finance Board

Professor William McGeveran testified before the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board about proposed disclosure rules for contributions to ballot question campaigns. McGeveran, who specializes in internet and privacy law and has written about disclosure in election law, warned of resulting privacy costs. He told the Board, "When blind dates Google you, when employers conduct background checks, when advertisers target sales pitches, when neighbors visit websites that mash up campaign finance records with maps, they discover your political beliefs." Although the proposed rules had been opposed primarily by backers of an upcoming ballot initiative to ban gay marriage, McGeveran said he supported gay marriage and urged the Board to consider the structure of disclosure independently from "hot political topics."