Election day is less than three months away and marriage equality groups throughout the country are preparing for state marriage votes in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington. Maine is voting on the legalization of marriage equality, Minnesota is voting on whether to ban gay marriage in the state constitution, Maryland and Washington are both voting on whether to pass the marriage quality laws that have already been approved by state legislature.
To help finance the efforts of state marriage equality organizations, national organizations are helping to raise money. On Monday, the national organization Freedom to Marry donated $3 million to Maine, Minnesota and Washington to help with costly television ads and more.
“Early and strategic support shows that our movement has evolved into a sophisticated campaign equipped to win at the ballot box in November,” the founder and president of Freedom to Marry, Evan Wolfson, said in a statement. “In an election season where candidate campaigns and Super PACs are snapping up television airtime, Freedom to Marry is especially pleased to be able to provide crucial early funding to support TV buys and other ways of making the case for the freedom to marry. We will continue to raise dollars and channel them into campaigns to ensure we get family stories in front of the voters and make the most personal and powerful case for why marriage matters.”
Approximately one third of the money contributed by Freedom to Marry was donated by Republican-affiliated donors, including Paul Singer, who supports Romney for president but believes that marriage equality should be recognized federally.
Earlier this month, the Human Rights Campaign donated $1 million, with the four states each receiving $250,000.
