Albuquerque – A new report from PROGRESSNOWNM provides an inside look at the groups, dollars and tactics behind last week’s vote on a 20-week abortion ban, the first of its kind in the country.
Six major national organizations and their affiliates coordinated the vast majority of the $445,000 raised and spent in just two months by five political committees promoting the ban to local
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voters.
Some organizations, like Operation Rescue, hid their involvement by providing services to affiliated organizations or by ignoring local election laws all together. PROGRESSNOWNM has filed complaints with the city’s ethics board regarding those unreported efforts.
PROGRESSNOWNM, a progressive advocacy group promoting and defending progressive values in New Mexico, spent months tracking dozens of events by the various groups, monitored TV and radio ads, hundreds of social media posts, more than 20 different direct mail and flier actions and researched finance reports throughout the campaign.
Among the findings:
The Albuquerque campaign provides a blueprint for other municipalities facing this new organized attack on women at the local ballot box. In the weeks following the arrival of the Susan B. Anthony List in Albuquerque, the group announced plans to introduce a national ban in Congress, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Albuquerque voters turned down the measure on November 19th, voting 55-45% against the ban. Proponents have promised to take the lessons learned from Albuquerque and apply them to other municipalities in the near future.
A new local abortion ban has already been introduced in Valencia County, just south of Albuquerque.