Colorado Politics: Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday concluded the state’s requirement that ballot issue advocacy groups disclose the name of their legal representatives on their election communications violates the First Amendment.

By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals believed there was no material benefit to the public from knowing who the registered agents are for groups that advocate for or against ballot measures. Judge Jerry N. Jones, writing for the majority, noted Colorado is the only state with such a requirement in its campaign finance laws.

“The registered agent doesn’t have to be an organizer, officer, or employee of the issue committee,” he wrote in the Aug. 1 opinion. The state’s arguments “don’t even try to explain how knowing the name of the registered agent — as opposed to some other person with a closer connection to the issue committee — will actually assist voters.”

Visit Colorado Politics for more.