Prop 8 Money Total Exceeded $83M

The latest Secretary of State's report on the financial filings related to Proposition 8 was released today and the amount of moneys expended over the fight for marriage equality exceeded 83.2 million dollars: 43.3 million in opposition and 39.9 million in favor.

The San Jose Mercury News reports:

The new filings, which cover the weeks immediately before and after the Nov. 4 election, show that elected officials, businesses, churches and individuals poured millions more into the contest than previously reported.

The final tallies show that opponents of Proposition 8 raised $43.3 million in 2008 and had a little more than $730,000 left on hand at year's end. The measure's sponsors raised $39.9 million and had $983,000 left over.

Even before the late contributions were added in, the race already had become the most expensive ballot measure on a social issue in the nation's history. Proposition 8 passed with 52 percent of the vote, although gay marriage backers have asked the California Supreme Court to overturn it.

In addition, at the Equality Summit there was consensus to attempt to repeal Proposition 8 by another ballot measure in 2010.